Chatapp Clubhouse is more and more popular, but what is it exactly? | NOW

The Clubhouse app is rapidly gaining popularity right now. But what exactly is it and what can you do with it?

Clubhouse is a social media released last April. At the moment, the app is only available for iOS, but the developers are working on an Android version. People must be invited by other users to join.

The app is all about conducting and listening to audio conversations with others. After you join, it is possible to participate in virtual rooms, where people can talk and listen to the conversations of others. Conversations are often about a specific topic, such as technology or sports.

The rooms can be public or closed. It is also possible to track users and rooms so that you know when new conversations are taking place. Clubhouse claims the conversations are not recorded. It’s not completely waterproof: users can also choose to record audio themselves with their phone.

The app got more attention from famous Americans

During the early months, Clubhouse was best known in Silicon Valley, an area of ​​the United States that is home to big companies like Facebook, Google, and Apple. The app has received increasing attention in recent months, in part because more and more famous Americans are using it.

For example, Tesla founder Elon Musk spoke with other users of the app earlier this month. Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg also came to the Clubhouse last week, where he spoke about the future of augmented reality and virtual reality.

of Numbers shows that Clubhouse had over six million users last week. In January, it was still two million users and in May of last year, there were only fifteen hundred.

Competing platforms are working on similar functions

Competing platforms, on the other hand, are working on similar audio functionality. Twitter is currently testing the Spaces service in beta and Facebook is reportedly working on its own version of Clubhouse as well.

The clubhouse has since been blocked in China, likely because Chinese users were able to talk about political issues without censorship. For example, the controversial security law in Hong Kong and re-education camps for Uyghurs in Xinjiang were discussed.