FCN Video ChatFCN Video ChatStart Chatting

You pick before you match

How much do you want to show?

Three ways into the same thing. Two of them never switch a camera on, and one of them needs one. Nothing here is a paid tier — this is just how you want to turn up.

Pick a Mode and Start

Side by side

QuestionTextVoiceVideo
Camera needed?NoNoYes — access is required before it starts
Microphone needed?NoYesYes
What they get of youWords onlyYour voiceYour voice and your picture
Works in a shared roomYesNot reallyNo
How fast you can read themSeveral exchangesA sentence or twoA few seconds
Easiest to walk away fromEasiestEasyHardest
Text

Type, and nothing else is switched on

No camera and no microphone are involved at any point in text mode. It is the same random 1-on-1 format as the other two — one stranger at a time, skip whenever — just in writing. If your instinct about video is "not yet", this is where to start.

Voice

The one people forget exists

Voice gets you tone, timing and hesitation — most of what text is missing — while nobody sees anybody. It is also the least awkward mode to leave, because there is no face registering it when you go. If video feels like too much and text feels too slow, try this before you give up on the site.

Video

Fastest read, highest bar

Video tells you in seconds whether a conversation is worth having. It asks more of you in return: camera access before it can start, and somewhere you do not mind being seen. On a phone you can switch to the rear camera during a call if you would rather show the room than your face — that is a phone thing, laptops usually have only the one camera.

Questions people ask about modes

  • No. The mode is chosen before you are matched and stays fixed for that conversation. If you think there is a chance you will want video, open with video.

  • Not quite, and this one is worth being precise about: it puts a cover over the picture on both sides, but your camera keeps capturing. If you genuinely do not want a camera running, start in voice or text mode instead.

  • Yes — the microphone button on the call screen genuinely mutes your own microphone. There is no control for muting the other person; if someone is being unpleasant, skip and then block them from their profile page.

  • No. There is no filter by gender, country or interest — the pairing is random, which is the whole format. What you choose is the mode, not the person.

More of these on the full FAQ, and the reporting side is covered on the safety page.

Still deciding?

Voice is the one most people never try, and it is usually the answer. Longer version here.

Start Chatting Free