Yee Chat is a self-described place to make new friends and meet new people instantly. Nice try. But it looks awfully like a dating app for teens to the rest of us.
Why else would you want to make a video call on your mobile device to a stranger?
Maybe we are a touch cynical, but it’s hard to buy them being ‘fueled’ by a vision to make mobile technology for everyone’s wellbeing. And believing in a world where it’s the norm to meet new people via video call.
Given that Yee Chat was around well before the global pandemic, it seems a bit of a stretch not to contend it’s a dating app of sorts. They even have swipeable profiles, so they obviously think users are utterly shallow and base their decision solely on appearance.
It gets worse. According to Yee Chat, it has introduced a new wave of social networking to create a space where people can ‘thrive socially’. And be better connected than ever before and, as a result, feel happier.
Yeah, right. But let’s cut Yee Chat some slack and take a closer look.
Cutting edge Artificial Intelligence-powered video calls
Group video calls
Instant video calls
Text chats
Swipeable profiles with songs
One tap report-and-block feature
Yee Chat uses some slick AI algos to match people with the profiles of people they might want to meet and chat with. Intelligent machine learning is also at work behind the scenes to prevent inappropriate conduct such as nudity, violence, and weapons.
Yee Chat, therefore, has put in some thought about safety, including a superfast one-tap feature to report and block others.
But it is not necessarily one-on-one encounters. You can set up group video chats with your friends and meet new people with them. Or create a room for your pals when you fancy a good old chin-wag or catch up.
But suppose you don’t need or want to have wing people tagging along. In that case, you can initiate instant video calls with anyone whose profile catches your eye. Or you can stick with a text chat. Presumably because you: A) are slobbing around in your PJs, B) having a bad hair day or C) are currently sporting a massive pimple on your chin.
You should probably also unmute your device when swiping through profiles as they feature music. You can totally tell much about a person by which song they like to jam to.
However, there are substantial safety and privacy concerns attached to Yee Chat. Google Play rates it as only suitable for people of 17 years of age and over. This is a fair assessment as Yee Chat is a potentially unsuitable environment for younger kids.
Free
Great way to make new friends
High-quality video
Cutting edge AI and machine learning
Privacy
Not suitable for younger teens
No longer available at Apple’s App Store
Yee Chat is downloadable from Google Play and requires Android 5.0 or later and 88 MB of storage space.
