Text chat is live and growing every day. The natural next step — the feature our users have been asking for most — is random video chat. We're building it. Here's what we can share right now about what it will look like and, more importantly, how we're approaching safety.
Why Video Chat, and Why Now?
Random text chat is powerful, but something changes when you add a face. Body language, tone of voice, and expression create a depth of connection that text simply can't match. Video chat with strangers is one of the most human things you can do online — the surprise, the awkwardness, the moment you realise you're both laughing at the same thing. We want to bring that to IshmitChat.
The reason we haven't launched it already is simple: we've seen what happens when video chat launches without proper safety infrastructure. We're not willing to do that. Video Chat won't go live until we're confident it meets the same standard our text chat does.
What We're Building
Peer-to-Peer Video with WebRTC
The video connection between you and your chat partner will be direct — browser to browser, using WebRTC technology. This means your video stream doesn't pass through our servers. We can't record it, store it, or access it. What happens in a video session stays between the two participants.
AI Content Moderation
This is the hard part that most platforms skip. We're integrating real-time AI content analysis that can detect explicit or harmful content before it reaches the other person. It's not perfect — AI never is — but combined with instant reporting and fast moderation review, it significantly raises the safety floor.
One-Tap Controls
Skip, end, and report will all be single-tap actions, always visible. No confirmation dialogs for the skip button. No friction between a bad experience and ending it. We're also adding a video blur toggle — so you can soften your video feed while keeping audio active, or progressively reveal yourself as a chat gets more comfortable.
No Downloads Required
Video Chat will work in your browser — desktop or mobile — using WebRTC. No app, no plugin, no account. The same zero-friction experience as text chat, extended to face-to-face conversation.
Optional Match Filters
You'll be able to filter matches by language preference and shared interest tags — both optional. The default is still fully random, because that's where the magic is. But if you want to increase the chances of finding someone you can actually converse with, the filters will be there.
What Makes This Hard
Building a random video platform responsibly is genuinely difficult. The safety surface area is much larger than text chat — content violations happen in real time and require real-time response. Trust & Safety infrastructure (reporting workflows, moderation queues, escalation paths) needs to be built before launch, not retrofitted after.
We're also thinking carefully about age verification and how to create meaningful friction for underage users without destroying the anonymous, no-sign-up experience that makes IshmitChat what it is. We don't have a perfect answer yet — and we'd rather take the time to find one than ship something half-baked.
How to Get Early Access
We're offering early access sign-ups for people who want to be first in line when Video Chat goes live. Sign up and you'll be among the first to know — no spam, just a single notification when the beta opens.
Meanwhile: Text Chat Is Live Now
While you wait for video, there are thousands of people chatting on IshmitChat right now. Text chat is live, free, anonymous, and requires no sign-up. Give it a try — you might not need video after all.