How Whislink works

You sign in with a Google account. Whislink uses it only to give you an account. Your email address and the name on your Google account are never shown to anyone you talk to.

Signing in is what makes reports and blocks work: they’re tied to an account rather than to a browser tab, so a block still holds after a reload.

The first time you sign in, you choose a username and an avatar. These are the only things the other person sees about you. Pick something that doesn’t point back to you: not your real name, not the handle you use everywhere else, not your birthday.

Whislink is for adults only. Before your first call you confirm that you’re 18 or older and agree to the terms of use. You’re only asked once.

Press Start a voice call on the home page. Your browser asks for permission to use your microphone; allow it, because a voice call needs a voice. Whislink then looks for someone else who is waiting and connects the two of you.

If nobody is free straight away, you’ll see a short waiting screen while Whislink keeps looking. You won’t be paired again with someone you’ve already talked to in the same session.

Once you’re connected, you’re live. The call runs directly in your browser; there is no app to install. On the call screen you can:

• Mute and unmute your microphone.
• Send a text message or a photo while you talk, for the link you mentioned or the view out of your window.
• End the call with one tap, whenever you like.

Calls go straight between the two browsers as encrypted WebRTC audio. When a direct connection isn’t possible, the audio passes through a relay server that forwards the encrypted packets. Whislink doesn’t record or store what you say.

You never owe anyone a conversation. Ending a call is a single tap, and nobody is told why. If someone crosses a line, open the More call options menu next to End call:

• Report lets you say what happened and add a short note. The other person isn’t notified.
• Block ends the call at once, and the two of you will never be matched again.

The safety page explains what a report contains and who reviews it.

Text and photos you send during a call travel directly between the two browsers. They aren’t sent to Whislink’s servers. A copy stays in your own browser so the conversation survives a reload, and it’s deleted when the call ends. The other person can keep their own copy, so only send what you’d be happy for a stranger to have. The privacy policy has the details.

• A modern web browser, on a phone or a computer.
• A microphone, and permission for Whislink to use it.
• A Google account.

Headphones help a lot: they stop the other person’s voice coming back through your microphone as an echo, and they keep the conversation private if you’re not alone.

Nervous about your first call? Read how to get through your first call with a stranger. Stuck for words? Try our conversation starters. And the FAQ answers the questions people ask most.