OurStranger started as an anonymous text chat platform — you got a temporary display name, matched with a stranger, and had a conversation that disappeared when you left. As of May 2026, that same conversation can now go voice or video with a single tap. Here is what changed, how it works, and why it matters.
What Was Added
Two new call modes are now available inside any active conversation:
- Voice calls — tap the phone icon in the chat header to request a voice call. The other person gets an incoming call notification and can accept or decline. If accepted, you're talking in real-time.
- Video calls — tap the camera icon to request a video call. Same flow as voice, with both participants' video streams visible.
During a call, you can mute your microphone, turn your camera on or off, and end the call at any time. When the call ends (by either person), you return to the text conversation. When the session ends, everything — text, call history, video — disappears.
How the Technical Architecture Works
Voice and video calls on OurStranger are powered by LiveKit — open-source, enterprise-grade WebRTC infrastructure used by companies like GitHub for their communication products. Calls are peer-to-peer: your video stream goes directly to the other participant's browser, not through OurStranger's servers.
Signaling (the handshake that sets up the call) happens over the existing encrypted data channel that already carries text messages. A one-time token authorizes each call session and cannot be reused. OurStranger never has access to the content of video or audio streams.
What Stays the Same
The core anonymity model is unchanged. Calls are session-scoped — they exist only while the session is active and leave no trace when it ends. No account is needed to make or receive a voice or video call. The other person never learns your real identity, location, or any personal information from the call itself.
The consent model is also unchanged: the other person must explicitly accept a call request. You cannot be put on video without agreeing to it. You can decline any call and continue the text conversation.
Why This Matters for Anonymous Conversation
Text anonymity has limits. You can have a genuinely thoughtful conversation in text, but there are moments where voice or video is the natural next step — and previously, on OurStranger, that meant the conversation had to stay in text or move to a different platform (losing anonymity in the process).
Now the full range of human communication is available in one place, anonymously. You start with text, which is the lowest-barrier way to connect with a stranger. If the conversation gets interesting, you can upgrade to voice or video mid-conversation without losing any anonymity, re-matching, or changing platforms.
This is the right architecture for how human conversations actually develop — they rarely start fully formed. They start as something tentative and grow into something more real. Having all three modes in one session means the conversation can grow into whatever it wants to be.