‘It took just one minute before I was offered the first d**k pic’

So you think you know what your kids are up to on those apps, hey? Well, I saw exactly what.

It all started with a conversation with a child safety expert, who warned us about an app our young teens are obsessed with. 

 

 

Omeagle. 

Heard of it? Of course you have - you probably had a few encounters on the icky chat site in your own youth. 

Well, it's back. Sure, it's had a name change but the concept is the same. A chat roulette where you get to talk with a whole lot of strangers from around the globe.

During a chat on Kidpsot's podcast Mum Club, former detective and child safety expert, Kristi McVee, issued a warning to parents of it's return. And just like sites such as Snapchat and Roblox (amongst others), it's not one you want your kids anywhere near. 

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Uhmeagle is the new name for Omeagle. Image: Supplied

What parents need to know

Omegle was a browser-based, networking platform designed for users to 'talk to strangers', in which you could video chat with randomised people, who were online at the same time.

For anyone who has never heard of or seen Omegle, once you logged in, half the screen was your camera view and the other half was the strangers view, via their camera. From there you could speak with anyone, anywhere in the world via video chat. 

According to Kristi, kids - some as young as 10 or 11 - were going onto Omegle during sleepover parties and hangouts with friends to 'talk to strangers' and within minutes were exposed to adult men flashing their genitals, asking them for their Snapchat and social media usernames and encouraging to connect in private messaging apps. 

Due to increased scrutiny and changes to regulations, Omegle founder Leif K Brooks shut down the original 'talk to strangers' platform in late 2023 after 14 years, due to the pressures to increase moderation and security for its users. Cybersafety educators and online safety advocates rejoiced at this decision since Omegle was a predator's paradise.

Children were drawn to the platform due to the excitement and intrigue of 'talking to strangers', which opened them up to online grooming, exposure to adult nudity and explicit acts as well as other inappropriate content. Omegle was a disaster as there was literally no moderation to protect children from the predatory and the overt abuse occurring. 

RELATED: Parents plead for stricter social media access

Enter Ome.TV as a direct replacement for Omegle. Ome.TV offers the same video chat features and the same safety concerns along with the same idea, to connect and talk to strangers.

"If you think your teen or tween doesn't know about it and would never consider going on the platform, I can promise you from my time in the Police and as an online safety educator, they have at least heard of it, and a much larger percentage have gone on there with friends," Kristi insists. 

"It's considered a risky but funny online activity, due to the false sense of security because they are safe behind the screen of their computer or phone. There is also a sense of safety as they are doing it with friends."

And she was right. When I went home with this information, I asked my 12yo and 10yo if they knew about these chat sites. 

"Oh yeah, I've never used it but I've heard my friends talk about it and they show it on YouTube," my son answered. 

That was enough for me. I decided to jump on with my podcast co-host Emily, to see exactly what these kids were talking about - and what Kristi warned about!

That escalated quickly! Image: Supplied

What happened when we jumped on

The revamped version of Omeagle, now Uhmeagle, was not hard to get into at all. While other sites asked us for ID verification to ensure we were over 18 and others asked us to turn off our VPN and other security measures, this site didn't ask for any of it.

It was literally "hit the 'START CHAT' button and go nuts". 

Nervous about what we were about to see, Emily and I hit the button and we were instantly connected to a male from France. A bit of chit-chat ensued but he swiftly moved on when he saw we weren't willing to show our faces. 

A bit of banter followed with other males who made comments about how we sounded much older than 16 like we said. Some had their tops on, others did not.

We were even connected to an older man who was wearing a satin robe. It was clear what he was there for. 

But no clearer than the chap from Italy who insisted we chat rather than talk and within a minute of being on the platform, there it was. 

We were offered our first dick pic. 

"When we first decided to trial Uhmegle as an experiment, I knew I wouldn't like it, but also, as an adult, maybe I would find it somewhat funny. I did not," Emily says. 

"I found it deeply, deeply unsettling and was shocked at the predatory nature of the entire platform.

"It took no time at all to be drawn into inappropriate conversations and even at 39 years old, I felt confronted, disgusted and somewhat compromised. I can't imagine using the platform as a teenager."

This is not an app for children

It was pretty clear that this is a site we don't want our kids anywhere near. 

"Parents, this is not a platform for children. In fact, I dare any adult to go on there and feel comfortable with how creepy and overt the sexualisation and abuse is," Kristi says. 

If you're worried or want to have the much-needed conversation with your children about staying safe online, Kristie offers up this advice: 

• Talk to your kids about online safety and apps that encourage talking with strangers or video chats.
• Encourage them to come to you if they see something online that is explicit or adult in nature. Once they see something like that, they can't unsee it and it is 'rife' on these types of apps so they need help in processing it.
• The peer pressure to be involved in these activities can be hard to resist, so help your children come up with strategies for these or similar scenarios so they know how to navigate being pressured or bullied to participate.
• Be open and non-judgemental when having talks about this type of content and platforms. We want our kids to feel they can talk to us so continue having open conversations and discussions around these types of topics and give them a safe space to share if they need to. 

Tune in to our special two-part episode of Mum Club with ex-detective Kristi McVee, where she talks about the dangers of social media and why every parent should consider a "dumb phone" for their child. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.

Other apps/platforms similar to Ome.TV

• Chatroulette: A random video chat platform with a mobile app
• Tinychat: A platform where users can join themed chat rooms and video chat
• CooMeet: A platform that connects users with verified female users
• Bazoocam: A platform that offers a random video chat experience and has a mobile app
• Chatrandom: A platform that offers a random video chat experience and has a mobile app
• Chatspin: A platform that offers filters and options to enhance user safety 

Follow Kristi on Instagram for more online safety tips. 

Originally published as ‘It took just one minute before I was offered the first d**k pic’