So, you must never personally meet any stranger you know only through such chat apps. Furthermore, abstain from giving out any personal information during such chats, which can be used for identifying and/or locating you, including your photographs, your first/last name, places you visit, state, city, street address, institute/school you go to, office you work in, etc.ĭon’t trust anyone – although it’s fine to interact with your friends on such chat apps, please be aware that people on the Internet are sometimes not actually whom they claim to be. Here’s more on the dangers of Internet chat rooms.Īvoid using your real identity – ‘When in Rome do as the Romans do!’ If you’re going to interact with strangers, never use an online ID that consists of your real name. Skilled hackers can easily hack into people’s chat accounts and extract confidential data, which can then be used for wrong purposes. Furthermore, anyone running such an app on public Wi-Fi platforms faces an increased risk of his/her data getting compromised.Īccount hacks – this one’s another very common problem faced in online chat apps. Improper encryption – many online chat apps don’t provide absolute encryption for the information shared on their platforms.
People holding these fake profiles can lure innocent teens and adults to share confidential information, which can thereafter be used to exploit them. Hence, it is commonplace to find many fake profiles on such services. Risks Involvedįake profiles – as highlighted above, people with malicious intentions can easily open accounts with these chat apps, often without the need of any identity verification. Let’s take you through the common risks involved in such chats on the Internet and how you can stay safe. As there are no major checks while signing up for these apps, the same users can reuse the app using a different identity and resume their predatory activities. However, such conversations can often become inappropriate, resulting in an Omegle ban for users. Hence, it’s extremely important for parents to know about all such chat apps/services that kids/teens use these days.įor instance, Omegle is one such platform where people can indulge in random conversations with strangers, acquaintances, or even friends from all over the world. Although the idea of gathering more followers/friends seems very appealing, particularly to teens, it also exposes them to the risk of being exploited by online predators.
More and more people are using smart phone apps these days to chat with, find and make new friends. Nowadays, you can easily carry out real-time communication with your friends and family located in any part of the world through chat apps, email and other popular web-based tools. The advent of Internet has opened up a wide range of possibilities for people of all age groups and abilities. Chatting Online | Risks & the Tips to Stay Safe