ChatRT

ChatRT (short for Chat Realtime) is a free webcam community for adults, built as a set of video chat rooms where everyone in the room can be on camera, rather than a one-to-one stranger roulette. Its about page says it has "thousands of real amateur users from all over the world", and the FAQ says it costs nothing to watch, chat or register: "Becoming a registered member is free!" No credit card is needed to sign up, according to the same FAQ, and guests can use most of the site without an account at all.

What you get and how the money works

The format. The home page says ChatRT lets visitors "quickly find girls or guys for free video chat" without clicking a roulette-style Next button hundreds of times. Instead of being paired with one stranger at a time, you sit in a room, see the user list and choose whom to watch, then invite someone you like to a private chat. The site says you can enter "as a spectator" to judge the service before taking part. The about page describes the culture it is after as a community, a place where users of both sexes feel it is "their virtual party place, a place where they can let loose, express themselves, meet like minded people, and just have fun!"

Watching several cams. The home page opening line says "Watch up to 16 webcams at once", while its longer text, the about page and the FAQ all describe a four-cam view. The FAQ explains how that view works: buttons marked 1 to 4 next to a nickname place that webcam in one quarter of the screen, so up to 4 users can be watched side by side. Each webcam has its own volume slider and mute button, a Resize button switches between quarter screen, larger screen and full screen, and a Zoom menu lets you zoom in on any part of a live video. The about page says video is HD quality "using the latest encoding technology".

Rooms and roster. The about page lists "multiple theme based rooms hosted on different servers", including Members Only chatrooms and VIP rooms, and the FAQ says you change rooms from a menu that opens beside the current room name. The roster is mixed: the home page says you can check whether someone is male, female or a couple before you chat, and that couples are part of the community and free to talk to. Gender filter checkboxes sit above the user list, directly under a nickname search box, so a visitor who only wants to see women, or only men, unchecks the rest. The rules ban men from logging in as a female, TS, couple or group, and the FAQ says doing so gets a permanent ban without warning.

Guests and members. A guest can watch and hear up to 4 webcams, get invited to a one-on-one private chat, send unlimited instant messages, use zoom and full screen, enter non-member rooms, rate and block users, view profiles and see who is watching them. The guest limit is one message in the public text chat every 10 seconds. Registering, which the FAQ says is free, removes that delay and adds private chat requests to any user (guests included), a reserved nickname, text colors and smileys, tokens, a permanent profile with several photos, a rating shown on that profile, fans and favorites, entry to Members Only and VIP rooms, and a custom message over your webcam of up to 19 characters. Members can also make their webcam clickable so it opens a link of their choice. The about page adds profile pictures taken with your webcam while chatting and a large text chat window it describes as "for use as a teleprompter for live stage shows".

Cam2cam. The home page says that when you find someone you like, you can "invite them to a private cam2cam video chat where just the two of you can enjoy each other's company". Registered members can invite anyone whose webcam they are watching by pressing the "Private" button over it, and can also invite someone outside the site by email, who then gets a link straight into a private video chat room.

Tokens. The money layer is the token, and it runs between members. According to the FAQ, a registered member gets tokens through a "Buy Tokens" link on the My Account page or by receiving them from other members, and tokens can be kept, given away or "redeemed for cash" through a "Cash Out" link once the member is verified. Tipping works through a "Tip" button over a user's webcam, with buttons for the amount. Tokens can be received in both public and private chat, and each member's token balance is shown in their profile bio.

Paid private chats. A verified member can set a per-minute token charge for private chats in the Private Chat Charge menu of their account. Anyone they invite, or who invites them, is then "notified of the rate you charge for private chats, and given the option to accept the charges or cancel the chat invite". Once the invite is accepted, the FAQ says the performer starts "receiving Tokens from the other users automatically every few seconds based on the rate you charge per minute". There is a twist in the rules: a member who charges earns only when someone else sends the invite, and if they invite someone themselves, that private chat is free for both sides. So the rate on any paid private chat is whatever that member chose, shown to you before you accept.

Broadcasting. Anyone can switch their own webcam on through the Cam Settings link, which makes ChatRT a two-way cam2cam room rather than a one-way show. The help page adds one condition: a male member who has been registered for 30 days or more must keep at least 270 tokens in his account to keep broadcasting, and without them can stay a member and use the site with his webcam off.

Control and moderation. You can block anyone from seeing your webcam or text, from sending instant messages, from becoming your fan, from sending offline messages and from sending private chat invites. A block lasts as long as you stay logged in. Instant messages are treated as small public rooms, so several users can post to the same person and everyone in that room sees the messages, and the room's owner can block posters. The about page claims "real time abuse reporting" and "over 100 moderators online at various times to enforce the rules". The site rules ban playing recorded videos on your webcam and asking for or sharing personal details such as email or Skype. A kick ends your sessions for about 15 minutes, and a ban keeps you out for at least 30 days.

Devices. The chat runs on Flash, version 11 or higher, according to the help page. On Android devices the site works with every feature except broadcasting your webcam. On an iPhone, iPad or iPod the help page says to install the Photon app from the App Store, with the same limit on broadcasting.

The figures from the pages

• Cost to watch, chat and register: free, with "no registration needed for most features" and no credit card required to become a member.
• Guest text chat limit: one message every 10 seconds; members chat without a delay.
• Simultaneous cams: 16 in the home page's opening line, 4 in the FAQ, the about page and the home page's longer text.
• Tokens: bought through "Buy Tokens" in the account page, sent with a Tip button, redeemable for cash by verified members.
• Private chat rate: a per-minute token charge set by each verified member and shown before you accept.
• Broadcasting rule for men: at least 270 tokens in the account after 30 days of membership.
• Moderators: "over 100" online at various times, per the about page.
• Audience: "thousands of real amateur users", the site's own claim.
• Minimum age: 18.

The site does not publish token package sizes or what tokens cost. Where the paywall sits is otherwise plain: entry, registration, watching and public chat are free, and money comes in only when you buy tokens to tip someone or accept a paid private chat whose rate you see first.

Who it suits and who it does not

ChatRT suits an adult who wants a free, room-style video chat where several people are on camera at once and who would rather pick whom to watch than be paired at random. The gender filters, the four-cam view and the cam2cam invite suit someone who wants selection and control, and the couples in the user list give pairs a place too. Members who like profiles, ratings, fans and offline Fan Mail will find them, and a visitor who wants a no-pressure look can enter as a spectator first. Amateur broadcasters who want to earn have a route: verification, a per-minute private rate of their own choosing, tips, and a cash-out link.

It suits a viewer looking for a professional performer roster less well. The site calls itself an amateur community, tokens move between members, and there is no rate card for private chats, so every price is set person by person. Men who want to broadcast long term face the 270-token minimum after their first 30 days. The Flash-based client means a phone can watch but not broadcast, and iPhone users need a separate app. The two different figures for simultaneous cams on the home page are a small inconsistency worth knowing before you go in expecting a 16-cam wall.