Working on a video call with someone you don't know: is it safe?
It's the first question to ask before using a virtual coworking or body doubling app. The answer depends on specific rules, and you can check them. Here's which ones, and what ours are.
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Six things to check before signing up
- The minimum age. A video call with strangers should be between adults only, and the terms should say so.
- Recordings. Does the service record calls? Are participants forbidden from doing so?
- What the other person sees. Your full name, your email, your profile, or only the name you choose?
- Where audio and video go. On whose servers, and in which country.
- Blocking and reporting. Can you do them during the call? Who reads reports, a person or an automated system?
- What remains afterwards. What data is kept, for how long, and how to delete your account.
If an app doesn't answer these questions clearly in its privacy policy, that's already an answer.
How it works on WeFocusBuddy
Adults only. It's in the terms, and you declare it by ticking a box when you sign up.
No recordings. Video calls run on free, open-source video conferencing software, installed on our own server in Frankfurt. That server has no recording function at all. Recording, photographing or sharing the call is also forbidden for participants.
Servers in the European Union. Database, sign-in and video calls are in Frankfurt, Germany.
Blocking and reporting from the app. Anyone you block is never matched with you again, in either direction. Reports are read by a person, and we don't tell the reported person who reported them, within the limits of the law.
Leave whenever you want. If something's wrong, end the call: you don't have to explain anything to the other person.
App screenshot with sample data.
What the other person sees of you
The name or nickname you choose to show; your image, because the camera stays on during the session (your face isn't required: you can point it at your desk); and your voice, when you turn the microphone on. They don't see your email or your account name. Keep in mind that the calendar is shared: people who are signed in see that name next to the times you've booked, and that's how you choose a time when someone is already there.
There's one technical detail we'd rather tell you ourselves: when there are two of you, your devices try to connect directly to remove the delay, and in a direct connection each device sees the other's IP address, as in any direct call between two computers. We don't store it and we don't show it. When the direct connection fails, the call goes through our server and the addresses never meet.
Four precautions that apply everywhere
- Use a first name or a nickname, not your full name.
- Check your frame before joining: no documents, addresses or other people behind you.
- There's no need to say where you live or work: one sentence about what you'll do is enough.
- If something's wrong, leave, block and report. You don't owe anyone an explanation.
How to use it from your phone, step by step: virtual coworking from your phone. What body doubling is and how a session works: body doubling online.