Question: Can you walk way from the cam and leave your chatroom empty? For how long?

Answer: It depends upon the site, but generally this is a bad idea and you should avoid being away from cam for more than a few seconds.

This answer is mostly for broadcasting camgirls, exhibitionist viewers who broadcast might also wonder.

At Stripchat they are quite strict and you can be in trouble if you are away for as little as two minutes. At least they are quite specific about the time limit, but do you know how long two minutes is? Is that enough time to get a drink? use the toilet? answer the door to get a delivery?

While Stripchat has a strict policy against prolonged absences from your cam room, other streaming platforms may have more lenient rules. For instance, on Bongacams, you can set your status to “Away” without any repercussions. However, it’s important to note that even on more permissive platforms, extended absences can still negatively impact your earnings and engagement with fans. You might consider setting up automated messages or pre-recorded videos to keep your audience engaged while you’re away, but actually this is against the rules at most places. And with good reason, the viewers are very concerned that what they are watching is actually “live” and not a recording.

If you have a mobile phone that can broadcast, and most of them can, then it might be better to simply walk around in your house holding your phone. Then you are never “away”.

Even if you’re allowed to go offline on a particular platform, it’s crucial to communicate with your fans before leaving. Leaving your audience hanging can lead to disappointment and a decrease in loyalty.

Remember, being real and having a regular and interactive presence is key to growing and maintaining a successful camming career.

Chaturbate doesn’t seem to worry so much, though if you are away for a while you will get a polite reminder that you shouldn’t be leaving the cam running on an empty room. But still it is important to maintain engagement on Chaturbate to provide a good user experience. I’ve seen people put up a piece of paper in the view of the cam with some sort of “I’ll be back in a moment” message, again this isn’t really allowed but realistically you might get away with it.

Why take the risk though? It is better to simply tell people you are going for a few minutes and stop the broadcast. That is what I tend to do, though I admit I sometimes get confused when I’m walking into the next room to get a drink, and don’t stop the cam. Depending on the angle of the cam I’m using this time I might actually be visible while I make my coffee, or at least my ass, but then that’s what most people are watching anyway.

One time I left the room because I had to go out and I left the broadcast running, that was a mistake! When I got back there was a pop-up on my screen:

A site administrator has sent you the following message:
Are you still there? There doesn’t appear to be anyone live on cam for a while. In the future, please make sure to stop broadcasting if you plan to be away for a long time. Thank you for your understanding.

You have a site message
Dear <model>,

Please contact support if you have any questions.

Chaturbate message
A site administrator has sent you the following message: Are you still there? There doesn't appear to be anyone live on cam for a while. In the future, please make sure to stop broadcasting if you plan to be away for a long time. Thank you for your understanding. You have a site message Dear <model>, Please contact support if you have any questions.

Have you had problems with accidentally being away from your camera?

I’ve had instances where I unintentionally went offline due to technical difficulties or unexpected interruptions. But that is different, eventually, it should time out and you’ll be disconnected.

Have you got in trouble for leaving a webcam chat room empty? Or as a viewer, what do you think when you go into a room and find nobody there? Let me know in the comments!