Voice and video chat, still one on one.

Chatiw starts with text, but typing is only one of three modes. Before any match you can pick voice or video instead. Voice turns your mic on and keeps your camera off; video turns both on. Either way it is still a 1 on 1 match with one random person, and next is still one tap away.

People search for this as chatiw video, chatiw video chat, chatiw videochat or chatiw cam. They all mean the same button: choose the mode, press start, and meet someone you can hear or see.

Random voice chat, or random audio chat if you prefer the word, sits between a text chat and a video call. You hear a laugh, an accent, a pause before an answer, and nobody sees your face or your room. It is the mode people pick while cooking, walking the dog or lying in the dark with earbuds in.

A voice chat with strangers also takes the pressure off first impressions. There is no camera angle to fix and no background to tidy. If the voice chat online is not going anywhere, tap next; the random call ends for both of you and a new one starts.

Voice counts as anonymous voice chat in the everyday sense: the other person hears you but only sees your nickname. As with text, your account and call history are still kept on Chatiw so reports and follows work.

Video is the most direct mode. A smile, a shrug or an eye-roll tells you more in five seconds than ten typed messages. That is why many people use text to warm up and switch to a video chat once they want to see who they are talking to.

On video, your camera and microphone are both live from the moment the match connects. Pick a spot with light in front of you, not behind, and check what the camera can see before pressing start.

Each mode is a separate match. You pick it before pressing start and it holds until that chat ends; there is no switching mid-conversation.

The first time you pick voice or video, your browser asks for permission. Allow it and the match starts. If you tapped "block" by accident, here is how to fix it:

A few habits make any audio chat with strangers or video call go better. Say hi within the first couple of seconds; silence reads as a bot. Use earbuds so the other person does not hear an echo. And if someone does something you did not agree to see or hear, do not argue: tap next, then report them.

You can also voice call strangers you already met. Follow someone during a match, and later you can ring them for a private call instead of hoping the random queue brings them back. Private calls use coins; is Chatiw free explains how.

You do not need a ring light to have a good video chat. Put the brightest thing in the room in front of you, not behind, or all your match sees is a dark outline. Prop the phone up at eye level; looking down into a camera on your lap is the least flattering angle there is.

Audio quietly decides how a call feels. A quiet corner and a pair of earbuds beat a great camera in a noisy kitchen. And glance at the edges of your preview before pressing start: anything in frame is part of the conversation, whether you meant it to be or not.