As Omegle Shuts Down After 14 Years, The Internet Erupts In Hilarious Meme Fest

TW: Mention of child abuse, child pornography, rxpe, and other forms of abuse

Omegle, the free online chat website with strangers, has pulled the plug after 14 years.

Founder Leif K-Brooks created the site in 2009, when he was only 18. The site launched as voice chat and soon enabled video telephony in 2010. The site gained massive popularity at the height of the global COVID-19 lockdown. Youngsters flocked in to stifle boredom. The site allowed chatting without registration. Following massive misuse of the portal, Omegle increased the age limit from 13 to 18. Some of the controversies that mired the platform included rampant racism and child pornography. Leif penned a heartfelt note on the site’s home page stating the reasons for Omegle’s shutdown.

In the note, he mentioned that the decision to cease Omegle’s operations is due to a combination of financial pressures and the emotional toll it has taken. He wrote that, as an 18 year old living with his parents, he had no idea what to expect from Omegle.

However, things didn’t quite turn out to be how one expected them to be. Leif writes that Omegle became subject to many attacks, and the target was the users. The barrage of attacks on the communication of the site was by a subset of malicious users, he states.

The founder further writes that he did his best to weather these attacks.

The battle for Omegle has been lost, but the war rages on, Leif remarks. He appeals to users to contribute to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He expressed his profound apologies for not being able to keep on fighting for the rights of Omegle users.

Leif’s longish note starts with a C.S. Lewis and Douglus Adams quote.

Off late, Omegle had become a content generator farm. Reactions poured in with hilarious memes taking potshots at content creators who posted their rendezvous on YouTube and TikTok. Many netizens heaved a sigh of relief, stating that the portal for pedos is now gone. Few even narrated how the platform enabled grooming. Some lamented about popular streamers, especially musicians who created fun content on Omegle. A handful of users even spoke of how they made some lifelong friends via the site. But most slammed the platform for having become a haven of weirdos flashing their wieners.

Good! Do TikTok next, urged another user.

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