Clubhouse to ditch invites; Android users can link Twitter and Instagram accounts

Screenshot of Clubhouse app
(Image credit: Clubhouse)

Drop-in chat platform Clubhouse has seen immense growth since its introduction just a few months ago. Though, initially available only on iOS, this audio-only social media platform is now available on Android smartphones and is available in various countries over the globe.

With the growing audience, Clubhouse is ringing in changes and is adding new features at a brisk pace. Clubhouse’s official blog post suggests that these upcoming updates will not only allow users to add their social media handles to their profiles but will also improve the general user experience.

Beta users of the Clubhouse app will now find an option to add both – Twitter and Instagram account under the profile section. Another update will improve the user flow by adding options to follow a user or a Room of your preference. For example, if you’re in a Room listening to a discussion, you will now get a quick follow button, located at the bottom. Hence you will be able to follow the Room without having to navigate away from the discussion.

Additionally, if a Club has more than one upcoming event, users will be able to scroll through all the upcoming events on the Club page and can set an alert for the one they plan to join. 

Soon to go Invite-free

Clubhouse, which has over 2million users on Android now, had been extremely elusive to join since the app was only available for the iOS platform and required an invitation to join in. Clubhouse’s Co-founder and CEO Paul Davison has confirmed that the app is doing away with the invite system this summer. While the invite system helped the pp grow in a controlled manner, Davison stated that it was a critical step since they had a small team to manage the platform and moderate the content.

He added, “The only reason we’ve grown through an invite model is that we feel that it’s important to grow communities in a measured way. If you grow too quickly, things can break, and we have always tried to make sure that as we add new users to Clubhouse, the experience for everyone who’s on the platform gets better rather than worse.”

Compliance with the new IT rules 

India’s new IT rules have been a major talking point in the last few weeks. Though with initial objection all the major social media platforms and messaging platforms – including Google, Facebook, Telegram, Koo, WhatsApp and Twitter have complied with the norms.

Similarly, while Clubhouse is waiting for clarity around the new laws, Davison confirmed that Clubhouse plans to comply with the new rules for social media intermediaries in India. He said, “Right now our startup is still small, staffing wise – we're just over a year old, and, and I don't think the government has laid out all the details around how these laws will apply to companies at different stages, but our goal is to work to ensure that the platform is in line with the country's laws and regulations.”

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Jitendra Soni

Jitendra has been working in the Internet Industry for the last 7 years now and has written about a wide range of topics including gadgets, smartphones, reviews, games, software, apps, deep tech, AI, and consumer electronics.