Apps Like Ablo in 2026: Where to Chat With Strangers Abroad, With Translation

Ablo did something no other app quite did: one tap, one random person in another country, a plane crossing the globe, and every message translated both ways. When it closed in September 2022, it left a gap that people are still trying to fill.

List checked October 2026.

Short answer: the best apps like Ablo as of October 2026 depend on what you miss. For random one-to-one text chat with someone in another country and live translation, try Olu: it is free, text only, translates every message both ways, is for adults 18 and over, and works in the browser. For video calls with translated subtitles, Azar; for slow letters, Slowly; for choosing pen pals yourself, InterPals; for a message in a bottle, Bottled; and for serious language practice, HelloTalk or Tandem.

Chat with someone abroad now, one tap, free

This guide compares what exists now. We have tried to be fair, including about our own app.

Olu is an independent app, not affiliated with Ablo, Massive Media, Match Group, Azar or Hyperconnect. Product names are used only for comparison. Features of third-party apps change; check each one yourself.

What made Ablo worth replacing

After reading 84,580 Ablo reviews, the things users actually valued were clear. A real alternative should have most of them:

1. One-to-one with a random person in another country, not a group room.
2. Translation both ways, ideally with the original text visible so you can learn.
3. Text first. Video, if any, only when both people want it.
4. Free to meet people. Ablo's reviews turned sour when meeting, choosing and reconnecting started costing coins.
5. Friends you can keep, and message again without paying.
6. The feeling of travel: where you landed, how far away it is, what it's like there.
7. Safety you can understand: blocking, reporting, and bans with reasons.

The options at a glance

Apps like Ablo compared as of October 2026, from their own store listings and websites:

	One-to-one random	Other countries	Translation	Text first	Free to meet
Olu (18+)	Yes	Yes, random country each flight	Both ways, original visible	Yes (text only)	Yes, no ads
Azar	Yes	Yes	Live subtitles in video chats	No, video-first	Yes; gender and region filters need a subscription
Language-exchange apps (e.g. HelloTalk, Tandem)	You choose partners	Yes	Built-in tools	Yes	Basic use is free
Slowly (pen-pal app)	Matched by interests	Yes	No	Yes, but letters are delayed	Yes, optional paid extras
InterPals	No, you search and choose	Yes	Not a core feature	Yes	Yes
Bottled	Yes, whoever keeps your bottle	Yes	Not a listed feature	Yes, plus photos and voice messages	Yes, optional paid Cruise membership
Chatous	Yes, or by #hashtag	Yes	Not a listed feature	Yes, video and photos too	Yes, with ads and in-app purchases
Omegle-style random chat sites	Yes	Not by design	Usually no	Varies	Usually
The 2025 "Ablo" app	Yes	Yes	Paid, according to its reviews	Yes	Paywall after a few messages, according to its reviews

And the honest trade-offs in one line each:

	Best for	Watch out for
Olu	Ablo-style random text chat abroad, with translation, in the browser	Small community (launched September 2026), no voice or video
Azar	Video calls with strangers abroad	Video-first; filters cost money
HelloTalk / Tandem	Learning a language with corrections and calls	You browse and message; first messages often go unanswered
Slowly	Long, thoughtful letters	Letters take hours or days; no live chat
InterPals	Choosing your own pen pals and language partners	No translation; you search and wait for replies
Bottled	The surprise of a message in a bottle	No listed translation; you wait until someone keeps your bottle
Chatous	Quick random text chat by interest	Android app not updated since August 2023
The 2025 "Ablo" app	Nothing we'd recommend	2.2 stars, paywalls, unrelated to the original

Gone: Hello Pal, often named in older lists, was no longer on Google Play when we checked in October 2026, and its website said it was being revamped. Omegle closed in November 2023.

Olu

We built Olu after studying what Ablo's users loved and what drove them away, so it is the closest in spirit. You tap to take off, a plane crosses the globe, and you land on one person in a random country. You both write in your own language and see each other's messages translated, with the original a tap away.

• Text only. No video, so no unwanted camera surprises.
• Miles are earned, never bought. Nothing you need to talk to someone costs money.
• Friends and reconnecting are free.
• Runs in your browser, on phone or desktop. Nothing to install.
• Adults only. It asks for your birth year when you join and refuses anyone under 18.
• AI locals are labelled. If nobody from a country is online, you may meet an AI local instead. It always carries an AI badge, and you can open its profile to see that it's AI.

Honest limits: it launched in September 2026, so the community is small and some countries will be quiet at some hours. There is no video or voice, and you can't pick a specific country.

Azar

Azar is where Ablo sent its users in 2022, and it's the most established app in this category. It's a video-first random chat app, owned by the same parent company. Its Google Play listing describes real-time voice-to-subtitle translation, and says that choosing who you meet by gender and region needs a subscription. If you want face-to-face calls with strangers, it is the obvious choice.

What Ablo users said about it after the switch: it isn't the same. No flights, no text-first matching, and the video-first format brought the same unwanted-exposure problems Ablo had after its own video change. See Ablo vs Azar.

Language-exchange apps

If what you loved about Ablo was practising a language with real people, dedicated language-exchange apps do that job better than any random chat. You pick partners who speak the language you want and want the language you speak, and the tools (corrections, translation, voice notes) are built for learning.

The trade-off is that nothing is random. You browse and choose, so you lose the "where am I going to land?" surprise that made Ablo fun. Our guide to language exchange without speaking the language covers how to combine the two.

Pen-pal apps

Pen-pal apps are the slow, thoughtful end of the spectrum: letters to someone abroad that take hours or days to arrive, depending on distance. They're lovely, and they have a travel feeling of their own, but there's no live conversation and usually no translation.

Slowly is the best known. Each letter takes from a few hours to a few days to arrive, depending on the distance between you, and you collect stamps from the regions your pen pals write from. There are no photos or real names. Writing letters is free, with optional paid extras. More in apps like Slowly.

InterPals has been running since 1998. You make a free profile, search by language, country and interests, and write to the people you choose. It's good if you want to pick, but there's no random match and no built-in translation, and many first messages go unanswered. See InterPals alternatives.

Bottled

Bottled is a message in a bottle: you write a message, it drifts to a random person somewhere in the world, and if they keep it, you can chat with text, photos and voice messages. If they release it, it floats on to someone else. It's free, with an optional paid Cruise membership.

It keeps some of Ablo's surprise, but translation isn't a listed feature, so it works best when you share a language. See apps like Bottled.

Chatous

Chatous matches you with people around the world by #hashtag, and you can add video chat, photos and audio messages. It works on phones and on the web. The catch: its Google Play listing shows no update since 29 August 2023, and translation isn't a listed feature. See Chatous alternatives.

Omegle-style random chat

Omegle closed in November 2023, and many sites copy its format. They're random and instant, but they aren't built around countries or translation, and moderation varies a lot. If you want text-only random chat without the video risk, see text-only Omegle alternatives and our random text chat safety tips.

The 2025 "Ablo" app

An app called Ablo appeared on Google Play in January 2025. It is made by an unrelated company, not by Ablo's original team. It gathered 100,000+ installs on the name, but its rating is 2.2 stars, and its reviewers describe a paywall after two or three messages, paid translation, login errors and unexplained bans. We explain it in the new Ablo app in 2025, and why we'd avoid sideloading old Ablo APKs in is an Ablo APK safe?.

Which one should you pick?

• You miss Ablo itself (random country, text, translation, the plane): try Olu.
• You want video calls with strangers abroad: Azar.
• You want to learn a language properly: a language-exchange app, and use random chat for practice on the side.
• You want deep, slow friendships: Slowly.
• You want to choose your own pen pals: InterPals.
• You like the surprise of a message in a bottle: Bottled.

Whatever you pick, the lesson from Ablo applies: keep a second way to reach the friends you make. Apps close.