How I Built an Anonymous Chat Platform Without Signup Using WebRTC (13K+ Users)

Introduction Most chat applications today rely on user accounts. Before sending a message, users are asked to: Sign up Verify email or phone Share personal information For quick conversations, this creates unnecessary friction. I wanted to explore a different approach — a system where users can connect instantly without creating an account. So I built Chatzyo, an anonymous chat platform powered by WebRTC. The Core Idea Instead of building another feature-heavy chat app, I focused on reducing friction. The principles were simple: No signup No user data storage Instant connection Works directly in the browser The goal: open → connect → chat Architecture Overview At a high level, the system uses a hybrid approach: 1. Signaling Server (Node.js + Socket.io) Used only for: User discovery Session creation Connection signaling No media is handled here. 2. Peer-to-Peer Connection (WebRTC) Once users are matched: Audio/video flows directly between peers No central server stores or processes data