Clubhouse said it had added 10 million people since its Android launch.(Reuters)

Live audio app Clubhouse no longer invite-only as competition with Twitter grows

Clubhouse witnessed explosive growth in the initial days of the Covid-19 pandemic but now faces competition from social media companies, especially from Twitter Spaces.

By hindustantimes.com | Edited by Kunal Gaurav, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

PUBLISHED ON JUL 21, 2021 11:02 PM IST

Amid growing competition in audio chat services, Live audio app Clubhouse has done away with the invite-only system for letting people join the platform. Clubhouse previously required either an invite from an existing user to join the platform or the users had to request to join a waitlist.

The platform witnessed explosive growth in the initial days of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic but now faces competition from social media networks, especially from Twitter Spaces.

“Twelve never-boring months later, we’re thrilled to share that Clubhouse is now out of beta, open to everyone, and ready to begin its next chapter. This means we have removed our waitlist system so that anyone can join,” Clubhouse said in a blog post.

The company said the earlier limitation was aimed at being able to grow in a “measured way” and keeping things from “breaking” as the platform scaled, adding that they always wanted to be open. The app was initially available only for iOS and in mid-May this year, Clubhouse was launched on Android.

Also Read | Facebook rolls out live audio, podcasts in US in a challenge to Clubhouse

Clubhouse said it had added 10 million people since its Android launch and the team has gone from 8 people to 58.

"We know there will be many more ups and downs as we scale, and competition from the large networks will be fierce. But we believe the future is created by optimists -- and we're excited to keep working to build a different kind of social network," the company added.

Last week, Clubhouse introduced the 'Backchannel' feature which allows users to send direct messages on the platform. The company said around 90 million direct messages were sent since the launch of Backchannel. Apart from messaging friends on the platform, the feature is aimed at helping speakers coordinate with co-hosts or exchange questions from the audience.

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