Do you want to know how safe you are on Omegle? Are you being tracked by Omegle, what information do they know about you. Can people on track you? Does Omegle itself track you? All of these and many more details regarding your privacy and security on Omegle will be discussed on this page.
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Can Omegle Track You?
Yes, Omegle can track you and they do. The Omegle service parades itself as an anonymous chat network. But the anonymity it claim is just a figment of your imagination; they have the technology to track you and do make use of it. All web services collect IP addresses of their users and place cookies in their browsers for tracking purpose and Omegle is not an exception.
In fact, for an anonymous social media platform that conforms with the law and law enforcement agencies, it is forced to use both your IP address and cookies to identify and track you. But it is not alone here, other third-party services they use can do same.
How Omegle Tracks You
For a second, forget the term anonymous when dealing with Omegle. This is because you’re not anonymous to them. In fact, you won’t enjoy a good user experience without them knowing you. And they only get to know you if you’re identifiable.
When you send a web request to the Omegle server, your IP address is saved and several cookies placed in your browser. Your IP address is assigned to only your computer at a particular time by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). This makes it highly effective at identifying you since law enforcement agencies can approach your ISP and look at your KYC data to get to you.
Personalized Data Collected by Omegle
Your IP address and cookies are not the only data collected by Omegle. Let take a look at some of the personalized data collected by Omegle. Below are what Omegle know about you.
- Location: Your IP reveal your location to Omegle. But not your actual location though, the best they get to know is your country and city. Only law enforcement agencies can take it further.
- Your Browser History: This is shocking right? Well, being a so-called “anonymous social media network,” it has to use all tiny pieces of information to solve the puzzle of identifying you. And your browser history and search history are some of the details they use to identify and track you.
- Your Browser: Aside from your IP address, your browser is the next thing Omegle keep a tab on. And they do so by placing numerous cookies in it. While these cookies help improve user experience, they are also used as unique identifiers for your browsers.
Does Omegle Save Chat?
If you want to know if Omegle keep your conversations on their platform, then yes, Omegle saves chats. However, these aren’t saved in text format. At the end of each chat, a screenshot of the conversation is taken by an automated system and stored on the Omegle server for spam purposes.
It is also important you know that Omegle take screenshots of your video chat which basically works on a P2P basis for spam and dispute purposes. You can also use the Save Chatlog feature to intentionally save your chat at the end of a conversation and get a URL for the chat. Users you chat with can also do same.
Does Omegle Report to Police?
Yes, Omegle is compliant with law enforcement agencies such as the police. Usually, all you get is a ban from the platform. However, this is useless as it can be bypassed, helping you to get unbanned from Omegle. In extreme cases of abuse, Omegle will report you to the police.
It is also important you that Omegle is ever ready to hand over your details and chats to police and other law enforcement agencies when they make requests. With just your IP address, you can be apprehended. So let no one deceive you, you’re not anonymous on the Omegle platform.
How to Avoid Omegle Tracking
The problem with Omegle is that tracking is not done by Omegle alone. Aside from Omegle, other users can trick and track you by taking you off platform to another site or use some network tools to get your IP address in the case of video chat that is P2P. Third-party services that Omegle utilize such as Google Analytics, Google Translate, Cloudflare, and other services also track you.
To prevent Omegle tracking, you’ll need to constantly clear your browser cookies and mask your IP address. For IP address masking, I recommend you make use of a high quality VPN software that can evade detection. Currently, NordVPN is our favoured provider.
Can People Track You on Omegle?
Yes, people can track you on Omegle. And it is easier than you think as one does not have to be tech savvy to pull it off. Omegle on its part does not publicly display personal data it passively collects from users. However, your IP address is readily accessible to other users with just a few simple tricks. Except you have your IP address hidden, then getting tracked by someone is just a matter of interacting with them.
How Someone Can Track You on Omegle
There are two ways you can be tracked by someone on Omegle. Either by using network analyzers like Wireshark for getting someone’s IP address when video chatting them or using a URL shortener that doubles as an IP grabber. Let’s take a look at each method of tracking on Omegle.
Using an IP Grabber
An IP grabber can be used by an Omegle user you chat with to get your IP address. How this is done is simple. They create a shortened URL to a web content on the web you’ll be interested in. Unknown to you, the shortened URL is an IP grabber. Once you click on the link, your IP is grabbed and logged before being redirected to the actual page.
However, you won’t notice this is happening. Grabbify is one of the popular IP grabbers used by malicious people on Omegle to execute this. For this method to work, you have to click on a link. If you don’t, there’s no way they could get your IP.
Using a Network Analyzer
First of all, just know that this method only works for Omegle video chat. Turns out video chat on Omegle is direct — P2P without the network packets passing through Omegle server. While this has its benefits, P2P means your IP address is always handed over to the other user you’re video chatting with. Omegle does not reveal it on their interface.
However, malicious users can use network analyzing tools like Wireshark to find out your IP address from the data streams sent to their computer. Unlike the first method, one needs to be tech savvy to pull this one through. It is also the most effective method as you don’t require any form of action from the user except just accepting to go on a video chat with you.
Your IP Address Tracked: Should You be Worried?
It is not uncommon to hear people say “someone on Omegle knows where I live.” Some even ask if they should be worried if someone on Omegle get their IP address. Truth is, most users that think they are being tracked by someone on Omegle do so because another user got their IP address.
As far as I am aware as a cybersecurity guy, you shouldn’t be worried for the most part. First of all, IP addresses do not provide details of your absolute geolocation. The geolocation data provided is that of your country and city. The coordinate given is usually at least 70 miles away from where you live. And that is even for big cities. For smaller cities, the bully will be misled to think you live in a different city.
The only real threat you should be worried about when someone gets your IP address on Omegle is slowing down or even shutting down your Internet connection via DDoS. But chances are, 90 percent of those that claim to have your IP address on Omegle do not have what it takes to manage and coordinate a DDoS attack on your system.
How Police Can Track You on Omegle
The kind of tracking done by people on Omegle for the most part is off and you shouldn’t be worried except in few cases — yes, there are cases you should be worried. However, in the case of police tracking on Omegle, the chances of getting a culprit is high. If you’re being threatened or bullied, you could approach the police to help you.
The police or other law enforcement officers can get the IP address of a user you chatted with and approach their Internet Service Provider (ISP) for their details. Most ISPs have the KYC of their customers and that can be used by the police to track offenders on Omegle.
How to Prevent Someone From Tracking you on Omegle
Now that you know there’s possibility of someone tracking you on Omegle, it is important you take the necessary steps to prevent it. The most obvious way is to avoid giving any personal or contact information. You can also avoid clicking on links no matter how legit they are.
But you’re still left with your IP address being leaked in P2P video chat. The best way to truly protect your IP address from being tracked by people on Omegle is by masking it. That way, even if they try to get your IP address, the IP they get is not yours. And as such, whatever malicious act they intend to carry out will not get to you. We recommend you use a high quality VPN software for this.
Conclusion
No doubt, cyber bullying is real. And there are people that try to get your IP address on Omegle and use that to try to find out where you live. With the help of a VPN software, you’re able to mask your real IP address on Omegle, making tracking useless if people to use such to get to you.
