Omegle has officially shut down, as confirmed by its founder, Leif K-Brooks. The popular chat site's creator confirmed this decision on Wednesday, Nov. 8.
Many fans were saddened by this sudden announcement since Omegle has brought them joy during tough times, such as the peak of COVID-19. But why did K-Brooks permanently close Omegle? Here's what the founder explained.
Omegle Officially Shuts Down After 14 Years
If you visit the official Omegle site (omegle.com), you will see that the usual landing page is no longer there. Instead, you will be directed to a very long message personally written by the chat platform's founder himself.
Leif K-Brooks why he created Omegle, such as being a safe place to interact with people instead of interacting with them directly. He also shared that he was a survivor of "childhood rape," which is why doesn't feel safe physically interacting since he puts his body at risk.
"The Internet gave me a refuge from that fear. I was under no illusion that only good people used the Internet," said the Omegle founder.
"But I knew that, if I said 'no' to someone online, they couldn't physically reach through the screen and hold a weapon to my head, or worse," he added.
K-Brooks further stated that the miles of fiber-optic cables and copper wires act as a kind of shield between him and other people while allowing them to feel less isolated.
Unfortunately, the founder had to shut down the popular online chat website. Here's why K-Brooks decided to close the website loved by many users across the globe.
Why K-Brooks Closed Omegle for Good
K-Brooks explained that although Omegle has lots of supporters from different parts of the world, there's no denying that his website also has lots of critics.
He explained that Omegle, just like other online tools, can be used "for good or for evil" because of its innate flexibility.
But, he promised that they are implementing measures to fire crimes and other misuse of Omegle.
"In addition to the basic safety feature of anonymity, there was a great deal of moderation behind the scenes, including state-of-the-art AI operating in concert with a wonderful team of human moderators," explained Omegle's founder.
However, he said that what is right doesn't always prevail. K-Brooks said that the stress and expense of Omegle's fight against online abusers and other evil-doers are simply too much for them to handle.
He explained that Omegle is no longer sustainable both psychologically and financially. K-Brooks added that since he doesn't want to have a heart attack in his 30s, he and his team decided to close the website for good.
Many fans were saddened by Omegle's disappearance after 14 years. On Reddit, some of them said that it is a sign that the internet they fell in love with will soon cease to exist.
Meanwhile, others said that they'll miss the Omegle videos that their favorite content creator share. These are just some of the comments of Omegle fans after knowing the permanent shutdown.
You can click this link to see more of their farewell statements.
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