Bench

Bench is a free chat app for making friends with strangers, without photos, profiles or swiping. You take a seat under a made-up name, and someone new sits down next to you. You talk in plain text. If the chat goes well, you both tap Stay in touch and it moves to your Friends list, where it stays. If only one of you taps it, the other person is never told, so nobody gets turned down to their face. Most random chat sites lose a good conversation the moment someone closes the tab. Bench is built so the good ones can last. How friendships grow Trust on Bench builds in steps, the way it does in real life. New friends start with text only. After you've talked on a few different days, photos and voice notes open up. Close friends can call each other by voice or video, and can add each other as Contacts, where you share your real names and short bios. Calm and safe by design • Chats with strangers are text only, and nobody has a profile photo. • Links and contact details are blocked in stranger chats, so nobody can rush you onto another app. • Photos and voice notes are end-to-end encrypted and deleted after 24 hours. • A real person reads every report. • Bench is for adults 18 and over, and it isn't a dating app. Something to do while you wait Bench is new, so sometimes the bench is empty for a few minutes. The waiting screen has two small games so the wait feels nice. In Fishing you catch 130 kinds of fish across nine pixel-art lakes. In Pigeons you win the trust of 90 kinds of birds with seed and patience. When someone sits down, you'll know right away. There are no streaks, timers or energy bars anywhere in Bench. Free, with looks you can buy Bench is free to use. If you want to support it, you can buy Glow and spend it on chat bubble styles, lake weather and other looks. Money never buys anything that changes how Bench works for you. Who it's for People who just moved to a new city, people who work from home, night owls, and introverts who would rather type than call. Anyone who wants to meet someone new without performing for a feed. Built by one person I'm building Bench on my own , on a small budget. It works in any modern browser on your phone or computer, and you can add it to your home screen like an app. Take a seat. Someone will join you. benchchat.app