Azar

Is Azar safe?

Azar is safer than the anonymous video sites it grew out of, but you pay for that safety with privacy, and the format still carries real risk. We score it 47/100, close to Badoo (49) and Tinder (51), and above live-video apps such as Bigo Live (40).

The app does one thing: it puts you on camera with a stranger, anywhere in the world, and you swipe to the next one. Paid filters let you choose gender and country. Its current App Store listing also leans on a "Lounge" of profiles and a "Discover" tab where both people must agree before a chat starts. Azar comes from Hyperconnect in Seoul and is now part of Match Group.

How Azar checks ages

Here Azar does more than most rivals. Its terms and privacy policy bar anyone under 18. Everywhere it operates, it may scan your face from the camera just before a call to look for signs that you are a minor. In the EU, UK, US and Australia it adds a video selfie, analysed by Yoti and FaceTec, to meet the UK Online Safety Act, Australia's social media minimum age rules and the EU Digital Services Act. Accounts judged likely to be under 18 are banned, with an appeal route.

Azar says the selfie is not kept and the face map is deleted about a day after the check, though two audit images are retained. That is a reasonable design, but it means handing a stranger-chat company your face, and age estimation is never exact.

The stores do not fully agree on the age limit. Apple rates the app 18+ with in-app age assurance; Google Play still shows Mature 17+.

Does Azar watch your calls?

Yes, by design. Azar's help centre says automated tools scan "messages, audio and video communications and your appearance when your camera is on" to detect harmful or illegal behaviour, and trained agents may review interactions that are flagged or reported. Interactions are also used "to evaluate, train and improve" those tools. When the tools detect something inappropriate during a chat, they blur the screen and prompt you to report it.

That moderation is the main reason Azar is safer than an anonymous roulette site. It also means nothing on Azar is end-to-end encryptedEnd-to-end encryptionEncryption in which only the sender and the recipient can read a message. The company running the service cannot see its content.More in the glossary. Google Play says data is encrypted in transit, which protects you from outsiders on the network, not from the company. Azar has a form for reporting security flaws, but we found no paid bug bounty on HackerOne or Bugcrowd. We found no reported breach.

What data does Azar collect?

Apple's label lists identifiers and usage data used to track you across other companies' apps and websites, and coarse location, device ID and advertising data used for third-party ads. Google Play says Azar collects voice recordings and in-app messages for safety and shares device IDs and app interactions for advertising.

The September 2026 privacy policy adds detail:

• insights it draws from your activity, including "age estimation, gender, language, interests, vibes and community guidelines violations"
• face geometry data if you use effects in Deco Studio
• precise location if you allow it
• ad partners who receive data or collect it through SDKs; in the US this may count as a "sale" or "sharing", which you can opt out of
• sharing with other Match Group brands for safety, ads, machine learning and "core recommendation systems", and transfers to the United States

Retention is spelled out better than at most apps: a three-month safety window after you close your account, profile data for one year, support records for five years and payment records for ten. Inactive accounts close after two years.

Strangers, scams and the App Store

The risk of random video is obvious: the next person may expose themselves, record you, or try to move you to another app for money or sextortion. Hyperconnect filed 4,547 reports of suspected child sexual exploitation with NCMEC's CyberTipline in 2025. A high count can reflect active detection, but it shows the problem is real on an adults-only app.

Apple's App Review Guidelines say apps used mainly for "Chatroulette-style experiences, random or anonymous chat" do not belong on the store. In March 2026 Azar told users it was unavailable on the App Store after an update to Apple's policies, and it ended iOS subscriptions on 6 April. The same day it released version 7.0.0 for iPhone, with a Discover tab where both people must accept an invite before a video chat starts, and the App Store has listed it since. Azar also closed its Azar Live streaming feature in November 2025.

We found no fine or order naming Azar from a privacy or consumer regulator. FTC cases against Match Group concern Match and OkCupid.

How to use Azar more safely

1. Keep your face and surroundings free of anything that identifies you: school logos, street views, mail.
2. Assume any call can be recorded by the other person. Never undress or share anything you would not want posted.
3. Leave and report anyone who asks to move to another app, asks for money or threatens to share images.
4. Choose "Ask App Not to Track" on iPhone and refuse precise location.
5. In the US, use the opt-out for targeted advertising and "sales" in the privacy settings.
6. Do not let teenagers use it, and check for it on their phones.

How we scored it

Privacy (34) is the weakest factor: ad tracking, scanning of calls, face-based checks and sharing across Match Group. Scams and harmful content (40) reflects the format and Apple's removal, softened by real age checks and moderation. Transparency and control (60) and the regulatory record (85) are Azar's strongest factors.