01First, the answer
What does ChillHub give you, and what is up to you?
ChillHub is safe to use in the way a sensible first conversation is safe: you are in control of it, and a few habits keep you that way. You can try the site as a guest without handing over personal details. You can end a call whenever you want, without giving a reason. You can report or block a person who behaves badly.
What no site can do is choose your words for you. Video chat puts you in front of someone you have just met, and the same judgement you would use with a person at a bus stop applies here. So this page has two halves: what the site gives you, and what is up to you.
Three columns worth remembering| What the site provides | What you control | What to watch for |
|---|
| Guest access with no personal details needed | Ending a call and whether you look for another | Requests for money or gift cards |
| Report and block options | Your camera, microphone and what is in frame | Pressure to move to another app in a hurry |
| Published community guidelines | What you say about where you live and work | Anyone asking for passwords or codes |
02Your controls
What can I do if a call goes wrong?
You have four options, in rising order of seriousness, and none of them requires an explanation.
- End the call. You can do it whenever you want. You never have to justify leaving.
- Move on. Ask for a new match once the next button is available; it uses a free match or coins.
- Report. If someone was abusive, threatening or broke the rules, use the report option so the behaviour is flagged.
- Block. Use it when you want no further contact with that person.
It is OK to leave without a reason. "I have to go" is true the moment you want it to be.
03Data
What does ChillHub ask from me?
Very little to begin with. Guests can start without registering, so your first call needs no name, email address or phone number. The browser will ask for permission to use your camera and microphone, because a video call needs both, and you can withdraw that permission in your browser settings whenever you like.
What the site keeps and why is set out in the privacy policy, written to be read by ordinary people. The overall flow, including where a guest session comes from, is on how it works.
04Shared devices
What stays on this device after I leave?
A guest session. It is created when the page loads and it lives in the browser you used, which is how the site recognises you on your next visit and remembers the people you follow. On your own phone that is a convenience.
On a shared or borrowed device it is worth a moment of thought. Close the tab when you are done, and if you do not want the next person to pick up where you left off, clear the site data for chillhub.chat in the browser settings. Clearing it ends that guest session for good, so sign in first if there are people on your list you want to keep.
The camera permission is separate. A browser remembers that you allowed it; on a device that is not yours, set it back to "ask" or "block" in the site settings before you hand it over.
05Before
Before the call: what's behind you?
A quick look removes most worries. As soon as you can see your own picture, look at it the way a visitor to your room would.
- Check the background for post, name badges, school logos or anything showing an address.
- Tidy away anything on the desk or wall that you would not show a visitor, such as letters, bank statements or a work pass.
- Sit with a plain wall or a bookshelf behind you if you can.
- Use a first name or a nickname as your display name.
06During
During the call: what should I never share?
Some details are fine on a tenth call and unwise on a first. Keep these back until trust has been earned over time.
- Your full name, home address and exact workplace or school.
- Phone number and personal social media handles.
- Bank details, card numbers and any kind of password or verification code.
- Travel plans that reveal when your home is empty.
A city and a first name are plenty for a good conversation. If something has to be spelled out, type it in the text box and think before you press send. The page on the 1 on 1 video call has ideas for what to talk about instead.
07The one rule
What if someone asks for money?
Never send money to someone you know only from calls. Not for an emergency, a plane ticket, a hospital bill, an investment or a gift card "just this once". The stories are often moving and well rehearsed, and they follow a pattern: affection first, a crisis second, urgency third.
The same rule covers anyone who says they are from ChillHub and asks for a password, a card number or a code. We do not ask for those in a call or a message. On this site money goes to one place only: coins are bought in the coin store on chillhub.chat, and never by paying another user. The coins page explains how, and why "free coin" offers elsewhere are a trap.
08Afterwards
After the call: who should I follow?
Only the people you would be glad to hear from. Following someone is how you find them again, and from a profile you can exchange messages, so treat your list the way you would treat your phone contacts.
If a conversation left you uneasy afterwards, you do not have to do anything dramatic. Do not follow, do not answer, and use block if you want no further contact. If something happened that needs more words than a button allows, write to us; the contact page has the address and a note on what to include.
09The rule book
Where do the rules live?
In three places. The community guidelines say what behaviour is and is not allowed. The terms of service set the conditions for using the site. The privacy policy explains what data is handled.
Those three, a way to leave, and report and block are what to look for on any site where you talk to people you have not met before. You can read all of ours without an account.
