Chat-Avenue Review

Introduction

Chat-Avenue has been around since 1999 and they certainly have the longevity to show that they know what they're doing, but what about the user experience? Is meeting people through chat rooms really a viable alternative to new and more popular dating sites? Or is this just a quirk of internet history that has managed to stick around for almost 25 years? In this case, would you be better suited trying something else? Well, that is what we're here to find out, so sit back, relax, and come with us on our Chat-Avenue review so we can help you decide if it's worth your time or not!

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Optional registration means you can join chats as a guest if you want to stay anonymous or just test the waters
• Completely free to use with no hidden costs
• Plenty of active members mean that the chats are always busy and easy to join
• Many chat rooms feature a wide variety of topics
• Moderators for each chat room to ensure that there is no nudity or illegal content

Cons

• Lack of identity or age verification means that there are many fake profiles.
• Chat Avenue sex chat is very common! Despite the wide variety of chat rooms, most of them seem to be very sexual and adult.
• The chat rooms are so busy that, at times, the conversations are hard to follow.
• No search function is available apart from browsing the different chat rooms.
• The existence of a kids' chat room (13-17 years old) and no real measures in place to prevent predators from accessing it

What Type Of Dating Site Is Chat-Avenue?

• Virtual hookups and fun
• Online meetups
• Chatting
• Friendships with benefits

From our experience, it is clear that Chat-Avenue is aimed more at the adult and, from what we saw, the erotic crowd. This is not the best place to look if you are after something long-term or that resembles love. Chat Avenue dating is something that could be quite tricky due to the often chaotic nature of chat rooms. It could be possible to make some friends if you are open to having some extra benefits with them as well! In the time that we spent on the site, it seems that keeping things online and consigned to your camera is the main goal here, so you might struggle a bit if you are looking for a quick meetup.

Chat-Avenue is a platform to be used for fun and connecting with others as well as making the most of what webcam chats and dating can be. However, they do have a strict no-nudity policy, so if you are thinking of getting a bit steamy, make sure that you keep your clothes on!

It should also be mentioned that Chat-Avenue offers many different chat rooms for you to join, so depending on which one you select will change the expectations you have. It seems that adult-oriented chat rooms are the most popular ones, but there are also ones dedicated to gaming, sports, kids, music and general video chat.

Who Is Chat-Avenue For?

• Straight
• Gay and lesbian
• Bisexual
• Transgender
• Couple

Because of the sheer variety of chat rooms available, it is unsurprising that Chat-Avenue is open to essentially anyone (as long as the minimum age requirement of being 18 years old is met). There are specific rooms that cater to gay Chat Avenue users as well as lesbian Chat Avenue members.

There are some chat rooms aimed at younger audiences, like the Boys, Kids, or Teen Chat Avenue members' chats, but we would steer clear of these since, as we will show later, there are very few identity or age verification measures in place.

Stats & Infographics

Male - Female Ratio

Age Demographics

Country Distribution

From the country distribution, it is clear that Chat-Avenue is popular in predominantly English-speaking countries but don't let this deter you if you are not from one of the locations listed above. Almost a fifth of the user base falls under "Other" which means that there is a decent chance that you could connect with people in your country!

Registration Process

Registration on www Chat Avenue com takes very little time, and funnily enough, it's completely optional! Even if you choose not to create a profile on the site, you can still access the different chat rooms, which we found a bit strange - anyone can join, and there is no identity verification process. If you want to join the site as a guest, then you simply create a unique username and then hop into a chat room of your choice! It should be noted that some chat rooms are reserved for guest users only (we saw that these were mainly explicit rooms).

Creating an account gives you access to a bit more features than if you are just browsing as a guest. Since there is no search function, in order to speak to someone again at a later stage, you need to be registered to make "friends" on the platform. Whether you have registered on the site or are browsing as a guest, you are free to message anyone.

As we mentioned before, there are many different Chat Avenue chat rooms available for almost any topic imaginable. We found that no matter which one we joined, though, the conversations were generally pretty sexual and explicit. Some of the more niche ones, like Sports and Gaming, tended to be about those topics, so you will need to decide carefully before joining in on a chat. It also seemed a bit tricky to make heads or tails of your first Avenue chat, but this is the nature of chat rooms - it's like walking into a crowded room and trying to follow what countless people are saying at the same time!

We also found that many of the profiles that we came across were either completely empty or looked very fake. Since there is no identity verification process and registration is completely optional, this is not surprising.

The lack of verification steps makes it especially worrying when you see the "Kids/Youth" chat room for underage children aged 13-17 years. Chat-Avenue does have moderators for each chat room to ensure that the terms of use are met, but the fact that anyone can join any chat room and there are no safety measures in place to prevent predators from accessing children online is extremely worrying.

Browsing through a handful of chat rooms, we were very disappointed with how negative and oftentimes racist, misogynistic and hateful most of the messages were. No matter what chat room we tried out, it seemed that some of the worst people on the internet had found their way into it and were saying terrible things. We were unable to find a single chat room where everyone was following the terms of use and speaking about the relevant topic in a wholesome and welcoming way.

Chat Avenue App & Mobile Compatibility

Chat-Avenue offers a mobile app for Android devices and is completely free to download and use. The interface is clear and easy to navigate and does not have any bugs or glitches. We would have liked to see an interface that is a bit more modern and in line with other social media and dating apps, but the app does what it sets out to do.

The user experience is much the same as the desktop site, and you are able to create a profile or join as a guest. One thing the Chat Avenue app does better than the desktop site is to make it easier to navigate around. Updating or filling out your profile is one tap away, and the site is almost better suited to being on a smaller, condensed screen.

Men Vs Women

There is no difference in the features and registration process whether you sign up as a man or a woman. The main difference is in your overall experience on the site. If you are a woman, you might find that the men come across as overly sexual and objectify you, and when we created a female presenting profile, we felt a bit like a piece of meat thrown into a wolf's den! We would encourage you to exercise caution before taking part in any chat rooms and to remind you to always be respectful and kind to anyone you speak to online.

Features

Chat Rooms

It might sound redundant to list this as a feature seeing as it is their main selling point, but we felt it was worth mentioning just because of the sheer variety of chat rooms available. From Cam Chat to Sports Chat, College Chat to Gay Chat - there really is something here for everyone! There are even chat rooms for kids and teens, but due to the dismal age and identity verification measures, we would steer clear of these (and keep our kids away from them as well).

Friends List

Not available unless you have registered on the site (in other words, if you are a guest user, you can't access this), the friend list is your way of finding the people whom you have connected with. Chat-Avenue does not offer any sort of search function for chat rooms or other members, so this is the only way to keep someone around that you want to contact again.

Private Chat

In addition to the chat rooms where you are free to communicate with anyone who has joined that specific room, there is the option of chatting privately with other members if you have made a connection. This is completely free to use for anyone and is great if you want to continue the conversation away from the prying eyes of other members.

Offers, Prices & Costs

Chat Avenue com is completely free to use for anyone who signs up. There are no token, coin or subscription packages, so once you have joined as either a guest or create a profile, you can access all of the chat rooms without paying a single cent. This seems like a big plus at first, but when you take into account that there is no age or identity verification of any sort, the absence of needing to pay only makes it more welcoming to all people (and many of them are not the most savoury of characters).

Some of the free-to-use features include the creation of your account, joining and communicating in chat rooms, and changing your profile picture (if you have registered). You are also able to send private messages to other members and add people as friends to be able to message them again later.

Safety & Security

Chat Room Moderators

Despite the lack of identity verification and other measures to ensure that every member is genuine, Chat-Avenue does at least have moderators in place for each chat room to ensure that there is nothing illegal or against their guidelines taking place. They have the power to delete any personal information posted to chat rooms (such as emails, addresses, and phone numbers) as well as the muting or banning of certain users if needed. We did not witness this happening during our time on the site, but it is somewhat reassuring to know that they do monitor what happens in the chat rooms to a degree.

Members Aged 13-17

We mentioned before the unease we felt at seeing a chat room dedicated to children, but Chat-Avenue calls themselves a "community chat site". This includes being available for children over the age of 13, so "Kids Chat Avenue" is clearly a thing. The measures they have in place to ensure that nobody over the age of 17 accesses them are simply "age restrictions" on these chat rooms.

A perfect example of how this system does not work is if you click on the "Teen Chat Room", it clearly says that it's for members aged 13-19 but in their gallery of the Latest Active Users, there is a photo of a middle-aged man and three profiles with cartoons for profile pictures meaning anyone could be hiding behind them. There is no guarantee that the profiles appearing to be teens are actually teens either. The same was true of the Kids Chat Room, where some of the members seemed much older than the requirements.

This seems very inadequate since, in order to access the chat rooms, you do not even need to create a profile with Chat-Avenue (signing in as a guest). They do state in the privacy policy that if you are a parent who suspects their child is on the site, message them and verify your identity and association with the user. This is the only time that we came across an instance of needing proof of identification which, considering their platform is accessible to minors, is a massive oversight.

Conclusion

The question we posed at the start of this review was a simple one: is a platform comprised solely of chatrooms still relevant today? Simple question, yes, but a slightly less simple answer is needed. It really depends on what you are trying to get out of the experience. Chat-Avenue calls itself a "community chat site", so if you want to connect with others in whichever community you have interests in, like Sports, Gaming, Dating etc., it seems like a good place to start. It's simple to register (you don't even have to register if you don't want to), free to use and offers many different categories of chat rooms for you to choose from. So far, so good.

Unfortunately, from our experience, it seemed that the majority of the chat rooms (despite their category) were mainly used for slightly more adult chats. This is fine in itself, but not when there are specific chat rooms dedicated to this. We would have liked to see the chat room moderators be a bit more proactive in keeping the conversations consigned to the theme of that chat room.

Then there is the rather big issue of the chat rooms for minors. We understand what they were trying to do with these rooms, but the level of security and verification needed to access these rooms are pretty poor. Reading through the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, we found it very strange that if you suspect your child was using the site, you need to provide more proof of identity than actual members on the site! When it comes to children and the internet, every possible step must be taken to make them as safe as possible and to deter any predators from contacting them, and this is where Chat-Avenue falls woefully short.

There are many other platforms to be used to connect with others in a community you are interested in. Reddit, Facebook, Tumblr - the list goes on! These are much more polished and secure, unfortunately. So. Chat-Avenue is difficult to recommend based on the strength of the competition. If you really want to try it out, though, we would say sign in as a guest and try out the Gaming or Sports chat for a more wholesome experience - unless you are feeling a bit naughty, then you can try almost any of the other ones (just stay well clear of the chat rooms for kids).

Tips

• Signing in as a guest means that you don't have to provide any personal information - this is great if you want to be discreet or just want to get a taste of the site.
• Registering on the site unlocks a handful of extra features, such as adding other members to your friends list to be able to contact them later on.
• Reach out to the chat room moderators if someone is being offensive or bullying other members. The moderators have the power to mute or even ban anyone who is acting out of line.
• Keep your clothes on! Remember, when using the webcams not to get naked; otherwise, you could face a permanent ban.
• Create an original and unique username in order to stand out from the crowd of many other members.
• For more details on the different chat rooms as well as the site in general, click on the Chat Avenue Forums page for an extensive list of active forums that will answer almost any question you could have.

FAQ

Is Chat-Avenue Free To Use?

Yes! Every feature is completely free to use, and there are no hidden costs to unlock more features.

How Safe And Secure Is Chat-Avenue?

ChatAvenue does not collect or store any of your information apart from your IP addresses, so in terms of your personal data, it is quite secure. In terms of other members and who is on the platform, this is less certain. Chat-Avenue has very little in the way of age or identity verification, so we would advise an extra level of caution when using the chat rooms.

Can Anyone Join Chat-Avenue?

Anybody over the age of 13 is able to join and use Chat-Avenue. The chat rooms available to members ages 13-17 are limited, and members aged 18 and older can join any room apart from the ones aimed at minors.

How Do I Report A User If They Are Being Abusive?

If you are being harassed by a member and do not want them to be able to contact you any more, you can block them by clicking on "Ignore User". You will no longer see their messages, and you can then take it a step further if needed by reporting the account to the moderators and administrators.

Are There Restrictions When It Comes To Webcams?

If you choose to chat with someone via webcam, remember that there is no nudity allowed whatsoever. If you are caught nude in a webcam or someone reports you, then an administrator or moderator from Chat-Avenue could end up banning you from the platform.

How Do I Delete My Chat Avenue Account?

If you have signed in as a guest, then your username and Chat Avenue login details will be automatically removed after three days of inactivity. If you have registered, click on your profile icon and select "Options". There is a button to delete your profile, and once you have clicked and confirmed, your profile will be removed permanently.