ChatHour
Chathour, formerly known as Weird Town Chat, takes a different take onto the entire dating platform.
It is not your usual dating platform; it
creates specific chat rooms where one can talk about different interests even without registering.
However, if you desire some privacy,- you have to register on this website.
It is a free-to-use website, and there is no charge required whatsoever to access all attributes of this website.
You can also create a chatroom of your desired theme and add people there. It is a unique way to know and learn about people, as a pastime.
In this review, we are going to provide you with a detailed analysis of this website and its different attributes. Let's dive deep a bit.
What makes "Chathour" unique over other dating platforms?
Chathour is not your usual dating platform. It might come across to you as an ordinary chat website, but you can access this website both as a guest user and a registered user.
The quickest way to start using Chathour,
which also is the most fundamental attribute to this website,
is to join various chat rooms that are active. These chat rooms are themed to a particular niche or hobby, and you can talk to multiple participants in the chatroom regarding the same.
However, as a guest user, your run ends there. If you want to access the private messaging attribute of this website, you have to register on this website as a proper signed-up user. After you sign-up as a legible user, you can access all the attributes of this website without paying a single penny.
With a readable account, you can chat with the participants of the chatroom with privacy, as well as create your chat room according to a topic you like and add participants to your chatroom.
There is an advanced search filter with "Chat hour" where you can use filters like location, sex, age and specific usernames where you can see the members currently using Chathour.
You can send them a personal message, send a friend request to connect with them as well as invite them to the chatroom that you created. The ceiling to send friend requests per day is set at five for security and privacy reasons.
The site is relatively user-friendly and has no complex attribute to it. It also comes equipped with an advanced search engine and appropriate search filters based on different features (like location, gender, etc.).
It tries to bring out the best of both worlds- both as a dating platform and as a social network, and the best part about it is that everything about this website is free.
In retrospect, this online platform was a rage a few years back but has now become redundant due to a multitude of reasons- the prime reason being that there is absolutely no way to tell whether a particular account is real or not.
Also, with the advent of more technologically advanced online platforms like Tinder and Bumble- these websites are not much in vogue, so the number of users with whom you can connect on dangerous levels has slowly receded.
Still, the best part of this website which they have stuck to, regardless of everything, is keeping it a free-end platform. Platforms which I have mentioned above require some payment to access some exclusive features of their website (tactfully targeted to the insecurities of a user).
However, you can use all attributes of "Chathour" just with your free account- which is appreciable.
Overview
Link to the website: http://www.chathour.com/
Chat hour might appear to be an essential chat website, but lying underneath are more attributes that have made Chat hour as an easily recognisable dating platform.
The aim of this website is simple- to combine the characteristics of a social networking platform into a dating platform.
It has been in this scene for quite some time, and before Tinder and Bumble came into vogue, this site was one of the few ways to come in contact with strangers.
The site is free to use, which is one of the stand-out features with this website. There are two ways to access this website: both as a guest user and a logged-in user.
Quite commonly, the movement of the guest user around this website is limited, and he or she can join the existing active chat rooms to converse with the other person. However, the guest user will not be able to send messages to the participants of the chat rooms.
For that, you will have to sign up with Chathour. Signing up with Chat hour is easy and exciting. There are four primary sections for you to fill up while signing upin
onto this website.
First comes some fundamental questions for you to answer- based on ethnicity, sexuality, what do you want out of Chathour, a status of sorts, and how often you plan to use the website.
Then comes the personal information section where you have to fill up your name, your contact number and links to your other social accounts. The third section serves as your bio, where you tell some lines about yourself and make yourself more appealing to other members with whom you might want to contact.
The final section is there for some more miscellaneous information about yourself- like physical features, hobbies, interests and personal achievements.
You can upload as many photos as you want to your profile, but there are some stringent criteria to meet with regards to maximum file size and components present in the picture for security reasons. Your photos can be set as either private or publicly available.
If you choose to keep your photos private, only your friends with whom you can connect with, can see your picture and no one else can whatsoever. Only the necessary information can be seen by everyone, while the friends can see more details.
To contact the members of the website in private as a logged-in user, you can add them as your friend. The fastest way to access the website is to join the chat rooms suited to your interest. You can also make your own chat room and invite members over there and connect with the members as well.
You can search for members using the filters being provided by the search engine and send them friend requests. You can send five friend requests every day that is the pre-set ceiling set by Chathour. However, the set limit to add friends to your account is only fifty.
There is also a mobile application provided as well, available both at Google Play and Apple App Store. The best part is that it is more user-friendly than the website. You can use the app to send both direct and instant messaging. It performs well on the mobile platform.
However, all things said, the biggest drawback that this platform has right now is its significant loss over a while. First of all, Chathour still has some redundant guidelines that are not suitable for the people of this generation.
Also, there are no background checks done by this platform to verify the profiles here,- hence there is absolutely no way to tell whether a profile is real or fake. With the falling significance of this platform, the site has been bled dry of active users.
If there is no significant marketing or monetisation of procedures done in the future, it might see itself in the graveyard of fallen social networks.
Pricing & Membership Fees
Chat hour incomes from advertisements, and hence there is no monetisation with regards to accessing the website entirely. If you sign up here as a legible user, you can access all attributes of this website without paying a single penny whatsoever.
Here's the link to sign up with Chathour: http://www.chathour.com/account/log_in?url=%2Ffriend%2Finvite_methods
Site Statistics
Website Performance Evaluation
Feature | Score |
|---|---|
Website design | 6 / 10 |
Website concept | 7.5 / 10 |
Availability of profiles | 5 / 10 |
Verification of profiles | 4 / 10 |
Chat facilities | 7 / 10 |
Performance | 7 / 10 |
Dating success rate | 6 / 10 |
Value for money | N,A, |
Bonus features | 5 / 10 |
User interface and layout | 6.5 / 10 |
Total | 60 / 100 |
Pros
Cons
Customer Support & Other Services
If you have any kind of queries regarding technical support or any complaints, you can use the link http://www.chathour.com/support/contact, and they have a dedicated "Frequently asked questions" section abounds with several questions aimed to satisfy your doubts and queries.
You can also email them at inquiry@chathour.com directly as well for any kind of support. There is no phone number or facsimile number available at this point. Chat hour is owned by "Chat Hour LLC" based out of San Francisco, CA, US.
External reviews
If we don't sound convincing enough, here are some external opinion-based ratings provided for you to compare with ours and clarify your doubts.
Overall verdict
Chat hour is not your conventional dating website, and neither is it a simple chat-based website.
Before social networking sites and dating platforms saw the daylight, sites like Chat hour were the only modes to get yourself acquainted with strangers you might like and eventually start dating if you like someone.
It has been around for over fifteen years, and it is astounding to see that the site is still alive and kicking. With a broad reach, scope, and full access without paying a single penny, the brief of the website still looks promising.
It aimed to bring the best of both worlds, both as a social networking site and an online dating platform. The lack of funding and monetisation from credible avenues has taken away a large chunk of its traffic away.
With the advent of more credible and technologically advanced dating platforms like Tinder and Bumble, backed by their excellent marketing and a vast user base, this website has seen better days. The site still looks primitive and gloomy, and there is no exciting feature to access as well.
The dating success rate is very narrow these days, as there is no surety whether any of your requests to connect or your chat room invites will be accepted.
Also, there are no background checks done as well to verify whether the site is fake or not, and it is tough to tell as even a fake site might appear to be very meticulous and detailed.
Overall, had it been fifteen years back, this would have been your only stream to get to know more people around you as well as far and wide.
There is no question that this website has a good brief and has served as a link to connect people, but with the rise of more significant players in the market- the site has lost its credibility as a legible dating site.
If the developers can work around the rough edges, monetise their website and tighten their objectives when it comes to background checks- this site might see itself back on the dating platform market as a legitl competitor.
Parting words
Hope you liked our review and detailed analysis of Chat hour. For more such reviews and in-depth reports, stay tuned with us. Till then, keep connecting with new people and stay entertained.