Is MiniChat safe? Six things to check, and what you will find

Test it instead of taking anyone's word for it, ours included. Putting strangers on camera together means no operator, us included, can vouch for the manners of every single person, and we will not pretend otherwise. What you can do is check the things that matter before you care how a call turns out. These six take a few minutes.

Use one of three controls on the call screen. None of them requires you to give the other person a reason first.

Your browser does. MiniChat can only use the camera and microphone after you tap Allow, and only while the tab is open. Closing the tab ends access. You can also withdraw the permission in the browser's site settings whenever you like. Because nothing is installed, as covered on the MiniChat app page, the site cannot reach your files, contacts or photos.

The categories are the ones the privacy policy lists: a guest session identifier, the display name and language you chose, typed messages, a record of matches and purchases, and technical details such as device type and IP address. The policy also explains how to ask for deletion.

As a guest you have not typed in a name, an email or a card, so those are not there to be kept. The guest session itself lives in your browser, and clearing that browser's data removes it from the device.

What the other person sees is your display name, your profile if you filled one in, and whatever your camera shows. One caution no site can engineer away: they are looking at a screen, and a second phone pointed at it can capture whatever you show. Show only what you are comfortable with.

Only as coins, and only through the site's own checkout. Matches beyond the free ones and video calls you start from someone's profile are paid in coins, with the price displayed ahead of connecting. Gifts are optional and you can always decline. If you are unsure what something costs, do not confirm until the number is in front of you.

It follows that nobody you meet here has any reason to want a card number from you, money sent by bank transfer, or the code off a gift card. If you are asked, you are looking at the first trick below. What is free and what is not is laid out on is MiniChat free.

Four, and they are the same four on every chat service. Knowing them is most of the defence.

Adults aged 18 and over, and nobody else. If an account looks under age, report it from the call screen. The community guidelines spell out the rest: no harassment, no hate, no explicit behaviour sprung on a person who never asked for it, no selling.

For habits that cover a call from start to finish, and the minutes on either side of it, read the safety tips. If something has already gone wrong, contact MiniChat support, giving the time of the call and a description of the incident.