How Shake & Talk works

Shake & Talk pairs you with one person who shook their phone at about the same time, somewhere else in the world. You each write in your own language and read the other person's messages translated into yours. It runs in the phone browser at webgametube.com/games/shaketalk/ - there is nothing to install, and you can try it without signing in.

This page walks through one chat from start to finish, so you know what you will see before you shake.

1. Before the first shake

The first time you open Shake & Talk, a short card explains the rules: you must be 18 or older, be kind, and never share or ask for contact details. Tap "I'm 18 or older - I agree" to continue. You only see this card once on each phone.

At the top you will see two languages. YOU SPEAK is picked from your phone's language (auto), and LEARNING is the language you would like to practise. Tap either one to change it. Shake & Talk works in six languages: English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese and Spanish.

2. Shake to search

Hold the phone and give it a firm shake. The phone's motion sensor starts the search - the screen switches to SEARCHING and a counter runs for 20 seconds while the server looks for someone who shook at the same moment.

If nobody turns up, Lingo steps in. Lingo is an AI practice partner (not a person) that talks with you in the language you are learning while you wait. You can tap "Stop searching" at any time.

3. Who you meet

When a match is found you see the other person's approximate city and their local time - never a name, photo or exact location. The first message is often about the time difference, because a suggested opener fills in both clocks for you: "Hi! It is 9:10 here. What time is it in Lisbon?"

Starter cards give you a topic of the day and quick replies such as "Yes, I do!", "Not really." and "Tell me more!", so the chat never stalls in the first minute. If you want more ideas, see our lists of 50 conversation starters in each language.

4. Talking with translation

Type a message and tap Send. Your text is translated into the other person's language, and theirs comes back in yours. Tap "Hide translation" when you want to test yourself and read the original first.

Translation is done by an AI model and it can be wrong, especially with slang, jokes and very short messages. Short, clear sentences translate best. Messages can also be read aloud.

5. Hands-free voice

Turn on Hands-free voice in Settings and Shake & Talk reads each new message aloud, then listens when it is your turn to speak. Speech recognition and read-aloud are handled by your own browser or phone, so this works best in Chrome or Safari. Inside some in-app browsers the page will ask you to open it in a normal browser for voice.

6. Ending the chat

Tap End when you are done. You will see the talk time and how many messages you sent. If the chat was helpful and you are signed in, you can say thanks with Linbi (10, 30 or 50) and, if they told you something useful about their city, post it as a Local Tip. Tips are checked by a person before they are published and never show names or the chat.

Linbi is the reward point of the Nestly app. It has no cash value and cannot be bought, sold or cashed out.

Making it yours

Pick a skin (Midnight, Postcard or Pop) and a text size in the Me tab. These choices are saved on your phone only.

Signing in with Google is optional. It lets you keep your Linbi and connects to the Nestly app if you already use it with the same Google account.

Questions

Next: Safety guide · 50 conversation starters in six languages · Contact us