Yello!

Yello is a calm, paid random video chat application designed to fix the core problems that caused platforms like Omegle to fail: bots, abuse, shallow interactions, and wasted user time. Traditional random video chat apps are free, which makes bad behavior, spam, and bot activity essentially costless. Yello introduces a lightweight economic layer that makes usage accountable without sacrificing anonymity.

Users lock a small amount of ETH at the start of a session and are charged only for the time they actually use the platform. All live interactions (video calls, session time) are tracked off-chain using Yellow Network’s session-based architecture, so there is no gas cost or blockchain friction during the call. When the session ends, the final balance is settled on-chain and any unused funds are automatically returned to the user.

This pay-only-for-what-you-use model naturally prevents bots and abuse, since malicious or automated users become expensive to operate, while genuine users are not overcharged. There are no ratings, reports, or moderation tools. Instead, Yello builds trust through behavior-based reputation. Over time, users earn lightweight on-chain tags based on real session usage, such as staying longer in conversations or consistently returning. These tags unlock small discounts on future session costs, rewarding genuine participation and making the platform cheaper the more responsibly it is used.

By combining real-time video chat with off-chain session payments and on-chain reputation, Yello creates a calmer, fairer, and more sustainable alternative to traditional random video chat platforms.

Yello is built as a real-time web application with a clear separation between UI, session logic, and settlement. The frontend is implemented using Next.js with Tailwind CSS for fast, clean UI development. Client-side components are used for WebRTC to enable live 1-to-1 video and audio communication between users. Matching and WebRTC signaling are handled using a Node.js backend with WebSockets, allowing two users to be paired instantly and exchange SDP offers and ICE candidates in real time.

For payments and session accounting, Yello integrates the Yellow Network using state channels. At the start of a session, users lock a fixed amount of USDC on-chain, which initializes a Yellow session. Once the session is active, all usage-based accounting (per-second or per-minute session time) is tracked off-chain inside the state channel, allowing instant, gasless updates during the live video call. No blockchain transactions are required while the session is running.

When a user ends the session, the latest signed channel state is submitted on-chain through Yellow’s settlement contracts. The channel is then closed, the amount spent during the session is transferred to the application, and any unused funds are automatically returned to the user. This guarantees that users can never spend more than the amount they initially locked.

A lightweight reputation system is built on top of this session data. Usage metrics are calculated off-chain, and earned reputation tags are written on-chain as simple identifiers tied to the user’s wallet. These tags are later used to apply small discounts to future session costs. By combining Yellow’s state channels with real-time video and WebRTC, Yello achieves Web2-like UX with Web3-grade settlement guarantees, while naturally reducing bots and abuse through pay-only-for-what-you-use economics.