More than just a chat room. This is Chat Buddy.
Chat Buddy is a place to talk, meet people, make friends, play games and become part of a real online community. Join a busy public room, have a private conversation, build your own profile, challenge someone to a game or simply see where the chat takes you.
Chat Buddy is intended for users aged 16 and over. Please review our Terms before using the service.
It all starts with a conversation
Drop into a room and see who is talking
Chat Buddy is built around live conversation. There is no waiting for somebody to respond to a post hours later. Join a room, say hello and become part of whatever is happening right now.
Live public chat rooms
Join active online chat rooms and talk with other people in real time. Chat Buddy includes general rooms as well as communities based around places and interests.
- UK and USA chat communities
- Location and interest-based rooms
- Live messages without refreshing
Join as a guest or register
You do not have to build a profile before saying hello. Guest access lets you get started quickly where available, while registering gives you a more permanent place in the community.
- Quick guest access
- Registered member profiles
- Extra social, privacy and account features
Take the conversation private
Sometimes a public room is not the right place for a longer conversation. Private messaging gives members a quieter place to continue talking one to one.
- Private member conversations
- Unread-message indicators
- Controls for unwanted contact
Even in a private conversation, never give another person your password, verification code, banking information or details that could identify your home, workplace or school.
Become a familiar face
Your Chat Buddy profile is yours to make your own
Registering is about more than choosing a permanent username. Your profile becomes your identity around Chat Buddy — a place for your photo, introduction, friends, gallery, gifts and the things you actually want other members to know about you.
Build your profile
Add a profile picture, status, introduction and other details that help people recognise you when you return to the chat.
- Profile picture and display details
- Personal status and introduction
- A familiar identity across Chat Buddy
Share a gallery
Profile galleries give registered members another way to personalise their space and share photos with the people they choose.
- Profile photo galleries
- Likes and social interactions where enabled
- Visibility controlled through supported privacy options
Friends and favourites
Find somebody you enjoy talking to? Add them as a friend. You can also keep track of favourite rooms so the parts of Chat Buddy you enjoy are easier to find again.
- Friend connections
- Favourite rooms
- Reconnect with familiar people
Send someone a gift
Found someone you get along with? Send them a virtual gift. Gifts add another social touch to Chat Buddy and give members a simple way to show appreciation or make somebody smile.
- Choose from available virtual gifts
- Send gifts directly to another member
- Build a more social profile experience
Create your own group
Where enabled, registered members can create group spaces of their own and build smaller communities around a shared place, topic or interest.
- Public and private group options
- Room roles and management controls
- Create a community within the community
You decide what people can see
Having a profile does not mean everything has to be visible to everybody. Chat Buddy gives registered members privacy controls for supported profile information.
- Everyone
- Friends
- No One
Your profile, your choice
Share what you want — not everything
Chat Buddy's profile privacy controls let registered members decide who can see supported parts of their profile. Different information can be given different visibility settings, so you do not have to choose between having a profile and keeping everything public.
Sometimes talking turns into a game
Challenge somebody you've been chatting with
You might be talking to somebody and decide words are not enough. Challenge them instead. Chat Buddy includes multiplayer games that connect directly with the people you meet around the community.
Chess
Challenge another member to a proper game of Chess, choose a time control and make your moves directly inside the Chat Buddy experience.
- Direct member challenges
- Different game time controls
- Draw and resign options
Tic-Tac-Toe
Quick, simple and surprisingly competitive. Challenge another member, take turns and see who can complete a line first.
- Live two-player games
- Optional game timers
- Turn sounds and mute control
Connect Four
Drop your pieces, block your opponent and try to connect four before they do. Connect Four brings another quick head-to-head challenge to Chat Buddy.
- Live two-player matches
- Turn timers and indicators
- Sound and mute controls
Do not disappear from the room
Keep chatting while you play
Starting a game does not mean disappearing from Chat Buddy. Supported games include access to the live room conversation, so you can keep an eye on what everybody else is saying while waiting for your next move.
Get the whole room involved
Quiz Bot brings a little competition into the chat
Where enabled, Chat Buddy's Quiz Bot can bring questions directly into the room so members can answer together, compete and have a bit of fun without leaving the conversation for a separate quiz website.
A little extra for being around
Rewards, VIP credits and virtual gifts
Chat Buddy includes optional social and reward features that give registered members a few extra ways to enjoy the community.
VIP credits
VIP credits are part of Chat Buddy's own community features and can be used with supported options around the site.
- Available through supported Chat Buddy features
- Can be used with eligible game options
- Remain part of the Chat Buddy experience
Login rewards
Where available, registered members can receive Chat Buddy rewards for returning to the community, giving regular users something extra simply for being part of it.
Virtual gifts
Send another member a virtual gift as a small thank-you, a friendly gesture or simply because you feel like it.
More than text
Webcam and live conversation
Where enabled, Chat Buddy lets members move beyond text by broadcasting or viewing live webcam streams within the community. You stay in control of when you start, stop or leave a broadcast.
Do not lose the conversation
Chat rooms move quickly. Chat Buddy helps you keep up.
Mentions, replies and message notifications help you spot when somebody is talking to you and find your way back to the right part of the conversation.
Mentions and replies
See when somebody mentions you or replies to something you said, making busy conversations much easier to follow.
Useful message context
Supported notifications can show enough information to help you understand which room, message or conversation the activity relates to.
Jump back into the chat
Where supported, notification actions can take you back towards the related room or message rather than leaving you to search for it.
Your space, your boundaries
You decide who you interact with
Not every conversation works out. Chat Buddy gives members practical ways to step away from unwanted contact and report behaviour that goes beyond normal disagreement.
Ignore, Block and Complete Block
Choose the level of separation that suits the situation, from simply ignoring somebody to stronger blocking controls where needed.
Read about our safety controlsReporting and moderation
Report harassment, scams, spam, inappropriate content or behaviour that breaks the community rules. Moderation tools help keep the wider community manageable.
Two-factor authentication
Registered members can add another layer of account protection using authenticator-app verification, recovery codes and trusted-device controls where enabled.
Learn about account securityContent and spam controls
Automated checks and moderation settings help reduce spam, repeated messages, inappropriate content and other behaviour that can disrupt a live room.
Real-time community
Messages, notifications and online activity update in real time so the room feels alive without constantly refreshing the page.
Chat across your devices
Chat Buddy is designed for desktop computers, tablets and smartphones, so you can join the community from whichever device suits you.
No complicated setup
Getting started with Chat Buddy
You do not need to learn a complicated system before joining in. Come in, find a room and start talking.
Choose how to join
Enter as a guest where available or sign in to your registered Chat Buddy account.
Find your room
Browse the available communities and choose somewhere based on location, topic or simply where the conversation looks interesting.
Chat, connect and have fun
Join the room, make friends, explore profiles, send a gift or challenge somebody to a game. What happens next is up to the conversation.
Frequently asked questions
A few things you might want to know
Straightforward answers about Chat Buddy's chat rooms, profiles, privacy, games and community features.
Is Chat Buddy free to use?
Chat Buddy provides free online chat rooms. Some optional membership, reward or community features may vary, but ordinary participation in the core chat does not require payment to send messages.
Can I join without creating an account?
Guest access is available where enabled, so you can join a room and start talking without first building a permanent profile. Registering unlocks additional profile, privacy, social and account features.
Why should I register?
A registered account gives you a persistent identity around Chat Buddy and can provide access to profile privacy settings, friends, favourites, galleries, virtual gifts, account security, rewards, games and other member features where enabled.
Can I decide who sees my profile?
Yes. Registered members can control the visibility of supported profile information using options such as Everyone, Friends or No One. Different profile information can have different visibility choices where supported.
What games can I play on Chat Buddy?
Chat Buddy includes multiplayer Chess, Tic-Tac-Toe and Connect Four. Members can challenge each other directly, and supported games include features such as timers, turn indicators, sounds, mute controls and access to live chat while playing.
Can I still follow the room while playing a game?
Yes. Supported games include access to Chat Buddy's live conversation so players can keep up with what is happening in the room while their match is underway.
What is Quiz Bot?
Where enabled, Quiz Bot brings quiz questions directly into the chat room so members can answer and compete together without leaving the main conversation.
Can I play games using VIP credits?
Where enabled, eligible registered members can choose supported game options involving their available Chat Buddy VIP credits. Using VIP credits is optional and depends on the options provided by each game.
Can I send gifts to other members?
Yes. Where available, registered members can choose virtual gifts and send them directly to other Chat Buddy members as part of the site's social profile experience.
Does Chat Buddy have webcam chat?
Webcam and broadcasting features are available where enabled. Members can choose when to start or stop their own broadcast, and community rules and reporting controls continue to apply.
Are private messages end-to-end encrypted?
Chat Buddy does not describe private messages as end-to-end encrypted. Private messages are separate from public room posts, but you should still avoid sharing passwords, security codes, banking information, private documents or other sensitive information.
Can I create my own chat room?
Registered users can create and manage their own groups where this feature is enabled. Available group settings may include access, roles and moderation options.
What can I do if somebody keeps bothering me?
You can stop engaging and use Ignore, Block or Complete Block as appropriate. Behaviour involving harassment, threats, scams, spam, impersonation or other rule-breaking should also be reported.
How can I protect my Chat Buddy account?
Use a strong unique password, keep control of the email address linked to your account and enable authenticator-app two-factor authentication where available. Never give another person your verification code or recovery codes.
Can I use Chat Buddy on my phone?
Yes. Chat Buddy is designed to work in modern mobile browsers as well as on tablets and desktop computers. Android access is also available.
How old do I need to be to use Chat Buddy?
Chat Buddy is intended for users aged 16 and over. Everyone using the service should also read the current Terms of Service and follow the rules of the rooms they join.
The easiest way to understand Chat Buddy is to join the conversation
Come into a live room, meet somebody new and see where the conversation takes you. Build a profile if you want to stay, make friends, play a game, join a quiz or simply keep chatting.