Paltalk

<h2 id="history">History</h2>
In 2007, the <a href="/facts/Suicide_of_Kevin_Whitrick/GaFtQBjN">filmed suicide of one of the service's users</a> was widely reported in the media. Concerns were raised over the possibility that it could <a href="/facts/Copycat_suicide/weMwBRe2">inspire further suicides</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2">2</a>
Paltalk filed a series of patent lawsuits against <a href="/facts/Video_game/vmTdNASJ">video game</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3">3</a> Paltalk first brought a case against <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a> in 2006, claiming <a href="/facts/Halo_(video_game)/9T3Jt75K">Halo</a> and <a href="/facts/Xbox_Live/mRsUYTYf">Xbox Live</a> violated its patent rights, and later settled out of court.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a>
In 2009, Paltalk then moved on to <a href="/facts/Sony/7x4tCtBd">Sony</a>, <a href="/facts/Activision_Blizzard/gPnVvNtk">Activision Blizzard</a>, <a href="/facts/NCsoft/rRxVja0A">NCsoft</a>, <a href="/facts/Jagex/nFVNCFJz">Jagex</a> and <a href="/facts/Turbine%2c_Inc./Rm0f7T9D">Turbine, Inc.</a>, claiming that these companies are also violating Paltalk's patents whose damages range in the "tens of millions of dollars".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a> In 2010, a US judge dismissed the lawsuit against Jagex and stated "After reviewing source code for the <a href="/facts/RuneScape/uyGdtr2G">RuneScape</a> video game made available by Jagex, Paltalk and Jagex agree that the RuneScape video game does not infringe the patents-in-suit."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a> 
In June 2013, it was revealed that Paltalk was targeted by the <a href="/facts/National_Security_Agency/Sg6MGV1o">National Security Agency</a>'s <a href="/facts/PRISM_(surveillance_program)/EhejEd35">PRISM</a> surveillance program.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a>

<h2 id="tinychat">Tinychat</h2>
In December 2014, <a href="/facts/Online_chat/UXwSoP4j">online chat</a> website Tinychat was acquired by Paltalk. Paltalk stated that Tinychat would remain a standalone application.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a> Tinychat allowed users to communicate via <a href="/facts/Instant_messaging/8lwwDyjK">instant messaging</a>, <a href="/facts/Voice_chat/JdhMSMjh">voice chat</a>, and <a href="/facts/Videotelephony/Ya9TMFQD">video chat</a>, and to create their own virtual chat room on any topic.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a> Tinychat ran on HTML5 compatible browsers and 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a>
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 used Tinychat's API and provides the ability to launch a personalized page and channel for initiating multi-user shows. Tinychat announced that it would not charge for the cost of bandwidth.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a> Based upon restrictions, Tinychat.tv has been closed.
In February 2010, Tinychat launched Tinychat Next, a service similar to <a href="/facts/Chatroulette/v5bSgog5">Chatroulette</a>. Tinychat Next differed from Chatroulette with the addition of topic-based rooms.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14">14</a> In January 2011, Tinychat raised $1.5 million in funding.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15">15</a>
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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16">16</a>

<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Comparison_of_instant_messaging_clients/NPcs51Dw">Comparison of instant messaging clients</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Patent_troll/9JkDE93A">Patent troll</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="http://Paltalk.com">Official website</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">"CNET". Paltalk. Archived from the original on 2013-08-26. Retrieved 2013-07-01. <a href="http://download.cnet.com/Paltalk-Messenger/3000-2150_4-10043373.html" target="_blank">http://download.cnet.com/Paltalk-Messenger/3000-2150_4-10043373.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">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. <a href="https://archive.today/20070328220732/http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/03/25/3828482-sun.html#selection-767.0-777.58" target="_blank">https://archive.today/20070328220732/http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/03/25/3828482-sun.html#selection-767.0-777.58</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">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. <a href="http://archive.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2009/09/16/westwoods_turbine_inc_named_in_patent_infringement_lawsuit/" target="_blank">http://archive.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2009/09/16/westwoods_turbine_inc_named_in_patent_infringement_lawsuit/</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">"Microsoft settles lawsuit over Xbox". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 2009-03-12. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-11-29. <a href="http://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Microsoft-settles-lawsuit-over-Xbox-1302404.php" target="_blank">http://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Microsoft-settles-lawsuit-over-Xbox-1302404.php</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">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. <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/09/multiple-mmo-developerspublishers-named-in-patent-suit.ars" target="_blank">https://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/09/multiple-mmo-developerspublishers-named-in-patent-suit.ars</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">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. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&tkr=SNE:US&sid=aAhAaaSzKQIA" target="_blank">https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&tkr=SNE:US&sid=aAhAaaSzKQIA</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">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. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20171229232230/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/122214/UKBased_RuneScape_Dev_Jagex_Wins_Patent_Infringement_Lawsuit.php" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20171229232230/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/122214/UKBased_RuneScape_Dev_Jagex_Wins_Patent_Infringement_Lawsuit.php</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">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. <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/06/06/nsa-surveillance-internet-companies/2398345/" target="_blank">https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/06/06/nsa-surveillance-internet-companies/2398345/</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">Lobosco, Kate (7 June 2013). "Google ... Facebook ... Paltalk?!". CNN Money. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2013. <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2013/06/07/technology/security/paltalk-nsa-surveillance/?hpt=hp_t2" target="_blank">https://money.cnn.com/2013/06/07/technology/security/paltalk-nsa-surveillance/?hpt=hp_t2</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">"Paltalk Buys Tinychat As Video Messaging Apps Consolidate". TechCrunch. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 2020-01-13. <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2014/12/16/tinychat-paltalk-video-messaging/" target="_blank">https://techcrunch.com/2014/12/16/tinychat-paltalk-video-messaging/</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">"Tinychat Creates Disposable Multimedia Chat Rooms", Lifehacker, May 29, 2009, archived from the original on 2011-09-05, retrieved 2011-09-13 <a href="https://lifehacker.com/5272145/tinychat-creates-disposable-multimedia-chat-rooms" target="_blank">https://lifehacker.com/5272145/tinychat-creates-disposable-multimedia-chat-rooms</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">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. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-ipo-snap-interactive-jason-katz-2017-3" target="_blank">https://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-ipo-snap-interactive-jason-katz-2017-3</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">"Tinychat encroaches ustream and stickam", Softpedia, November 17, 2009, archived from the original on 2011-08-10, retrieved 2011-09-13 <a href="http://news.softpedia.com/news/Tinychat-Encroaches-Ustream-s-And-Stickam-s-Areas-127232.shtml" target="_blank">http://news.softpedia.com/news/Tinychat-Encroaches-Ustream-s-And-Stickam-s-Areas-127232.shtml</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">"TinyChat Launches Grouped Version Of Chatroulette", TechCrunch, February 16, 2010, archived from the original on 2010-04-07, retrieved 2010-04-05 <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2010/02/16/tinychat-launches-grouped-version-of-chatroulette/" target="_blank">https://techcrunch.com/2010/02/16/tinychat-launches-grouped-version-of-chatroulette/</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:15">"Tinychat Raises $1.5M From Kutcher, Diddy And Others, Is Just Getting Started". TechCrunch. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 2020-01-13. <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2011/01/25/tinychat-raises-1-5m-from-kutcher-diddy-and-others-is-just-getting-started/" target="_blank">https://techcrunch.com/2011/01/25/tinychat-raises-1-5m-from-kutcher-diddy-and-others-is-just-getting-started/</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:16">"Tinychat has closed!". tinychat.com. Archived from the original on 2025-01-02. Retrieved 2025-01-12. <a href="https://tinychat.com/" target="_blank">https://tinychat.com/</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Paltalk open-in-new

Paltalk