Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Omegle, a popular video chat service, shuts down after more than 14 years of operation. The founder admitted that he was afraid of having a heart attack at a young age.
Omegle is known as a site that allows users to communicate with strangers without registering. Users will be randomly rotated to communicate with other users.
This service was closed due to increasing misuse of the platform, including committing crimes.
This site, which was founded in 2009 by an 18 year old programmer, Leif K-Brooks, has experienced bootstrapping throughout its operation.
Although its popularity has waned over the years, the site still attracted about 50 million visitors last month, according to analytics firm SameWeb.
“I didn’t know what to expect when I launched Omegle. Does anyone care about a Web site created by an 18-year-old in his bedroom at his parents’ house in Vermont, with no marketing budget? But the app became popular almost immediately after its launch, and grew organically from there to reach millions of users every day,” wrote K-Brooks in his blog post, quoted from TechCrunchFriday (10/11/2023).
Omegle came under criticism after the service became a breeding ground for much cybercriminal activity during the pandemic, leading to a spike in its use.
K-Brooks said the company has tried to implement a number of improvements over the years.
“While I wish things were different, the stress and expense of fighting this – coupled with the stress and expense of operating Omegle, and fighting its abuse – is simply too much” he said.
“Omegle’s operations are no longer sustainable, both financially and psychologically. Frankly, I don’t want to have a heart attack in my 30s,” he added.
K-Brooks, who appears to be running the service alone, expressed his dismay at how the internet has changed in the past decade.
According to him, the fight for Omegle has stopped, the war against the Internet continues to rage. Nearly every online communications service experiences the same problems as Omegle, even though some are larger companies with more resources.
“I fear that, unless this situation changes soon, the Internet that I love may no longer exist, and instead, we will have something akin to a more advanced version of TV – one that focuses largely on passive consumption, with fewer opportunities to active participation and real human connection.” he concluded.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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