Clubhouse revamps itself to new audio messaging app

SAN FRANCISCO: Popular social audio platform Clubhouse, which was at the peak of the pandemic lockdown, witnessing 10x month-on-month growth and then disappeared from public discussion, has now transformed itself into a new audio messaging app.

The company has reinvented itself "to be more like a messaging app" with new voice-only group chats called "Chats".

"We’re evolving Clubhouse to be more like a messaging app with a big new update today, available now on iOS and Android. It’s designed to be more social than other messaging apps, and a bit more Clubhouse-y," Clubhouse said in a blopost on Wednesday.

According to the company, a Chat is a voice-only group chat with your favourite people.

"To picture a Chat, imagine if your group texts and your Instagram Stories met at the park, talked for hours, became best friends and fell in love. 9 months later, they gave birth to a new way of keeping in touch -- one that lets you hear your friends’ voices, meet their friends, and spend less time typing. If “social messaging” were a thing, that’s what it would be," the company explained.

With Chats, you can push to talk, listen at 2x, tap to skip, swipe to the next Chat, and slide into your friends’ VMs to chat privately. They’re designed to be fast, fun and personal, as per the company.

Although live audio rooms will continue to exist on Clubhouse, chats may encourage users to check in more frequently to hear from their friends rather than whoever is hosting a live conversation at the time.