Talk on the phone with someone else stuck at home.
YoungMi Lamine | 12
How it works?
Danielle Baskin and Max Hawkins , QuarantineChat (2020) © Courtesy of the artist.
It’s totally free and worldwide
Once you sign up and choose your language preferences, you’ll be subscribed to periodic calls. Your caller ID will always say “QuarantineChat” when your phone rings.
After a brief moment on hold, you’ll match with another random person. You don’t have to pick up if you’re busy—your partner will be automatically matched with someone else. And you can join and leave the line whenever you’d like.
It’s private. You use your phone number to sign up for Dialup, but your matches will only ever see your username.
All calls are end-to-end encrypted.
About the project.
Danielle Baskin and Max Hawkins , QuarantineChat (2020) © Courtesy of the artist.
The artists Danielle Baskin and Max Hawkins created QuarantineChat as a response to the coronavirus causing people in cities to be in quarantine, isolating humans from each other. While people can still talk to their friends and family virtually, the experience of spontaneously talking to a stranger is now missing from many of our lives.
Whether the virus has affected you, or you’re worried, or you live in the woods—your phone might ring and connect you to another interesting person you should meet. COVID-19 is not a lighthearted matter, but we hope this project brings people moments of joy in an otherwise dark time.
The same artists also created Dialup that has stayed in touch over the phone through random calls for the last two years.
