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Think of Clubhouse as live podcasts. It thrives because it is useful, but more importantly, it feeds everyone’s FOMO – fears of missing out. If you’re not there when everyone discusses it, you miss it.
You might’ve heard of Clubhouse by now. The chances are you’ve joined Clubhouse. Perhaps, you’ve probably seen friends, co-workers, or celebrities post on their socials about the conversation they’re having on Clubhouse.
This out-of-nowhere social space managed to build its reputation, partly on exclusivity. Most people are still somewhat confused about what this unusual platform does and then dismay when they download it just to get a place on a waitlist. Though it may seem like the universe doesn’t want ordinary folks to know what’s happening on this privileged app, we’re here to share some secrets.
What is Clubhouse anyway?
Nothing more than a voiced-based social platform, Clubhouse is currently accessible for iPhone users, but an Android version will soon follow.
Clubhouse allows its users to share audio clips instead of photos and text posts. It’s somehow intriguing because it makes one wonder if apps like these rival prominent platforms like Instagram or Twitter. With more than 2,000,000 users Clubhouse allows you to join “Rooms,” where you can find a plethora of discussions centered on several topics and select chat rooms according to your interests.
Want to Become a Clubhouse Member?
Given that it’s an invite-only-app, you have to get one from a current Clubhouse member. Once you’ve been invited you get to share it with four more people. So, unless your friend is already in, you’re not going to be partaking in the platform anytime soon.
Currently, the app is accessible to download, which allows you to sign up on a waiting list, however, there’s no telling regarding your sign-up that way.
The clubhouse founder mentioned that an invite-only system would appear in the following months, but nobody has a more accurate timeline than that, so for now, curious users will need to try and claim invitations from someone else.
What happens in the Clubhouse?
Once you’ve accessed the platform, you can follow various clubs, topics, and people. The good news is you can partake in various virtual chat rooms where you can follow friends/ colleagues or business-related groups who are chatting in there.
Thus, if you enter a room, your iPhone’s audio automatically turns on. Who manages the room? Only the creators of the audio chat room decide who stays and who leaves. As a member, you can choose to put your hands up if you want to enter a conversation, however, it’s the room creators who decide who speaks and when.
Clubhouse’s Star-studded Audience
Believe it or not, a Clubhouse chat can be ordinary – but it doesn’t mean it can be converted into a must-attend conversation if a star shows up. Besides Musk’s and Zuckerberg’s current appearances, comedian Kevin Hart joined the platform last year.
As of Musk’s debut with the CEO of Robinhood, the maximum “room” limit of 5,000 partakers was quickly reached, so additional overflow chat rooms were unlocked.
Is Clubhouse Safe?
The app has been on the market for less than one year, and it’s already facing security and privacy issues.
In early March, Stanford University researchers located some serious privacy breaches on the Clubhouse platform. Different from many hypothetical and speculative scenarios, these current breaches have already exposed users to hazardous elements.
What did they find? Initially, researchers found out the platform was not encrypting its users’ identifiers before transmission. This case only makes Clubhouse users susceptible, basically, to every internet user. To put it simply, everyone with the means can track your activities without any restrictions.
What’s more, the Sandford team discovered that a business working with the platform has its headquarters in Shanghai. If that isn’t troubling enough, only imagine that your data gets transmitted to China at some point.
Although there’s little evidence to support this speculation, this suggests that the Chinese government can access and monitor users’ data. Similar to Sanford’s discovery, Bloomberg recently revealed that some third party was collecting Clubhouse audio recordings.
How to Keep Safe While in the Clubhouse?
- Restrict Clubhouse Access to Your Contact List
- Revoke Access from your iPhone settings
Clubhouse’s Future Looks Bright
Things are happening on the only-audio platform at the moment. With a tremendous development plan in the works, its makers hope will place it at a similar level to Instagram or Facebook.
Currently, Clubhouse moderator Paul Davison claims that moderation must be the highest priority for any social platform. While he hopes to keep the app as a space that supports dialogue and free speech, it’s clear as daylight that it needs more moderators so it can grow.
They also plan to monetize the app, allowing you to produce your own profits through Clubhouse. So far, subscriptions, ticketed events, and suggestions have been recommended, and many improvements are set to tackle the mounting user base and ensure UX isn’t negatively affected. Recent improvements include:
- Localization.
- On-spot personalization.
- Faster user control over push notifications.
- Increased accessibility.
- Tweaks to the activity feed.
How Do I Delete the App?
Not what you’ve looked for? After all, Clubhouse isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. There’s no option or magic button so you can delete your account. What most users find infuriating about the platform is that they have to contact the Clubhouse team directly and ask them to cancel their accounts.
In the meantime, if you’ve never got the chance to enter the chatty world of Clubhouse, now is the moment. If a buddy throws you an invitation, don’t just roll your eyes, picturing another Instagram-like app to deal with. We’re suspecting that Clubhouse might be here for a long time, and who doesn’t want to be able to say they were there at its very beginning?