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Paltalk Messenger streamlines communication by putting instant messages, video chats, voice calls, and SMS all into a single user interface. While it may not be the most user-friendly program out there, it's certainly one of the more powerful.
If you've used an IM client like Trillian or Pidgin, then Paltalk's interface should feel familiar, with its vertical towerlike orientation, list of contacts, and status bar. The difference is that Paltalk does a lot more than those programs do--which is good. So, in addition to the typical IM contact list, there's a Chat Room panel, as well as a Phone & SMS panel, which lets you make voice calls and send texts. The problem is that using all of Paltalk's features is not always intuitive. The program has tons of drop-down menus, icons, and tabs cluttering each window, and very few explanations of functions. Also, watch out for the promotional content that Paltalk often serves up. For instance, I got messages telling me to Like Paltalk on Facebook, join specific chat rooms, and upgrade to a paid version. And then there's the Paltalk Today and Paltalk Notifier windows that sometimes make appearances. It can get a bit annoying, to say the least.
The Basic (free) version of Paltalk is ad-supported (banners) and comes with five texts and 100 voice call minutes (within the US and other select countries), all for free. For more texts or voice minutes, you'll have to pay on a per-use basis. In addition, you can upgrade your account to a Plus, Extreme, or VIP tier to get more features.
Paltalk's wide selection of chat rooms and active user community is among its best attributes. You can jump into G (general), R (rated-R), or A (adult) chat rooms, or create one of your own. Unfortunately, if you're on the free version of Paltalk, video in chat rooms is pretty much useless, since you only get a quick 10-second taste of Webcam functionality before it shuts off and asks you to upgrade. But what's great is you can video chat within a private message window, even with multiple participants. Also, there's a feature called SuperIM, which lets non-Paltalk users chat with you.
While Paltalk is certainly a versatile communications tool with tons of features, I think it's biggest strength is its chat. If you're interested in exploring chat rooms--public or private--or exchanging video instant messages with friends, I highly recommend you check this program out.
Publisher's Description
From A.V.M. Software:
Paltalk is the world's largest video chat community, with over 4 million members. The free Paltalk download includes:
Access to thousands of live video chat rooms. Room categories include music, politics, sports, religion and many more. Unlimited group video calls with up to 10 friends. Virtual Gifts--fun animations that can be sent to other members in a chat room 100 free minutes of talk time to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, China, Brazil, India and Hong Kong AND 5 free international text messages for each new member. Interoperability with AIM, Yahoo, MSN, Facebook, GTalk and ICQ--IM with all your friends from Paltalk.
What's new in this version: Version 10.2 now supports 17 languages: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, Filipino, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish and Vietnamese.
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All versions:
3.8 starsout of 887 votes
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Current version:
1.8 starsout of 4 votes
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My rating:
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Results 1-4 of 4
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"Cesspit for nasty people."
Version: Paltalk Messenger 10.2
Pros
Paltalk was a fun place to be once.
Good at taking your money for silly gifts or colored nic'sCons
Paltalk is a place for people to make life a living hell for others because the customer service is useless, unless you wish to spend money. They spy on you in private pm's that you think are private, they turn your cam on without your knowledge & they can assess your hard drive without you knowing. Some of the red admins are totally rude and if they dont know the answer to something or the question you ask is pointed at paltalk then they will red dot you. If a co-admin does not like you they will just remove you from the lobbys for no good reason, how UN-professional is that; if you have a paid nic then u have every right to be there. People steel your private information. Mr rufusjunior, your remark about "Eventually there will probably be some tragic crime committed" Too late, in a room somebody was feeling down so some of the users egged him on to hang himself on cam, so he did. So yes i think Cesspit is rather apt for Paltalk.
Summary
If you are a nasty person or you don't care about yourself or your privacy being taken, then paltalk is the place to be.
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"Company Rated F by Better Business Bureau"
Version: Paltalk Messenger 10.2
Pros
1. Fun to chat if you have time to waste.
Cons
1. poor customer service 2. poor tech assistance 3. Better Business Bureau rates the company an F as of this writing today 4. people can add you to their chat list and you are not notified 5. people can copy photos from your profiles very easily 6. ages not enforced--too easy for people to lie about ages on their profiles. 7. allow unlimited ID's for people so you do not know if person chatting with has another ID and they chatted with you under that ID. 8. many "gliches" or bugs such as lost sound, rooms not loading properly..
Summary
Not worth the money because of poor customer service. The company does earn it's F rating by the BBB.
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"It's a Sewer"
Version: Paltalk Messenger 10.2
Pros
High quality chat client.
Cons
Headquarters for stalkers and malicious distribution of people's personal information. If anyone gets your personal information, including address, phone number, and real name, they can use PalTalk to share it with other low lifes. Eventually there will probably be some tragic crime committed as a result of PalTalk's lax enforcement policy of their Terms of Service Agreement; then their lawyers will probably claim there was nothing they could do to stop it; but the truth is they just don't seem to care.
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"I like this a lot!"
Version: Paltalk Messenger 10.2
Pros
Recommend this to all friends.
Cons
Nothing to say
Results 1-4 of 4
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