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| Developer(s) | AVM Software | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial release | June 1998; 26 years ago (1998-06) | ||||
| Stable release(s) | |||||
| |||||
| License | Proprietary | ||||
| Website | www | ||||
Paltalk is a proprietary video group chat service that enables users to communicate by video, Internet chat, or voice.
History
In 2007, the filmed suicide of one of the service's users was widely reported in the media. Concerns were raised over the possibility that it could inspire further suicides.
Paltalk filed a series of patent lawsuits against video game developers claiming they were infringing U.S. patents 5,822,523 and 6,226,686 "Server-group messaging system for interactive applications", patents they purchased from the now-defunct company HearMe in 2002. Paltalk first brought a case against Microsoft in 2006, claiming Halo and Xbox Live violated its patent rights, and later settled out of court.
In 2009, Paltalk then moved on to Sony, Activision Blizzard, NCsoft, Jagex and Turbine, Inc., claiming that these companies are also violating Paltalk's patents whose damages range in the "tens of millions of dollars". In 2010, a US judge dismissed the lawsuit against Jagex and stated "After reviewing source code for the RuneScape video game made available by Jagex, Paltalk and Jagex agree that the RuneScape video game does not infringe the patents-in-suit."
In June 2013, it was revealed that Paltalk was targeted by the National Security Agency's PRISM surveillance program.
Tinychat
Tinychat was an online chat website that allowed users to communicate via instant messaging, voice chat, and video chat. It offered instant opportunities for people to meet and the ability for users to create their own virtual chat room on any topic or category. Tinychat was a web-based platform that works on HTML5 compatible browsers or standalone apps for Android or iOS. The chat rooms could contain a rolling maximum of 12 video and audio feeds. Tinychat, including all of its services, was owned by PeerStream.
On November 16, 2009, Tinychat launched Tinychat.tv, which offers users the ability to live stream any video or show hosted on Tinychat. The service uses Tinychat's API and provides the ability to launch a personalized page and channel for initiating multi-user shows. Tinychat has also announced that it will not charge for the cost of bandwidth. Based upon restrictions, Tinychat.tv has been closed.
In February 2010, Tinychat launched Tinychat Next, a service similar to Chatroulette. Tinychat Next differs from Chatroulette with the addition of topic-based rooms.
In January 2011, Tinychat raised $1.5 million in funding.
In December 2014, Tinychat was acquired by Paltalk. Paltalk stated that Tinychat would remain a standalone application.
In late 2017, Tinychat revamped its entire website layout. It incorporated a WebRTC version of its chat rooms to replace its older RTMP flash-based chat rooms. The site also added HD video streaming, along with Android/iOS mobile device streaming with compatible devices, via the Tinychat application.
On December 16th 2024, an announcement that Tinychat had ended services and closed down appeared on the Tinychat website. The shutdown announcement page featured an advertisement for Paltalk.
See also
References
- "Paltalk - Find Friends in Group Video Chat Rooms - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Archived from the original on 2019-06-24. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
- "Paltalk - Group Video Chat App". App Store. 2 August 2023.
- "CNET". Paltalk. Archived from the original on 2013-08-26. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
- Merritt, Brookes (2007-03-25). "Live hanging shown on web: Alberta suicide-prevention groups brace for copycat deaths". CNEWS. Archived from the original on 2007-03-28. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
- Bray, Hiawatha (16 September 2009). "Westwood-based video game maker named in patent infringement suit". Boston.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
- "Microsoft settles lawsuit over Xbox". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 2009-03-12. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
- Thompson, Michael (2009-09-17). "Multiple MMO developers/publishers named in patent suit". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2012-01-06. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
- Decker, Susan (2009-09-14). "Sony, Activision Blizzard Sued Over Online Games (Update1)". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
- Graft, Kris (17 November 2010). "UK-Based RuneScape Dev Jagex Wins Patent Infringement Lawsuit". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
- Winter, Michael (6 June 2013). "Reports: NSA siphons data from 9 major Net firms". USA Today. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- Lobosco, Kate (7 June 2013). "Google ... Facebook ... Paltalk?!". CNN Money. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- "Tinychat Creates Disposable Multimedia Chat Rooms", Lifehacker, May 29, 2009, archived from the original on 2011-09-05, retrieved 2011-09-13
- Oyedele, Akin (2017-03-04). "We spoke to the chairman of the company whose stock exploded after people confused it with Snapchat — here's what he said". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2017-10-24. Retrieved 2020-01-13.
- "Tinychat encroaches ustream and stickam", Softpedia, November 17, 2009, archived from the original on 2011-08-10, retrieved 2011-09-13
- "TinyChat Launches Grouped Version Of Chatroulette", TechCrunch, February 16, 2010, archived from the original on 2010-04-07, retrieved 2010-04-05
- "Tinychat Raises $1.5M From Kutcher, Diddy And Others, Is Just Getting Started". TechCrunch. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 2020-01-13.
- "Paltalk Buys Tinychat As Video Messaging Apps Consolidate". TechCrunch. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 2020-01-13.
- "Tinychat has closed!". tinychat.com. Archived from the original on 2025-01-02. Retrieved 2025-01-12.