Not many know about Clubhouse, which is an invitation-only audio-based chat app. The app is an iOS app based on voice and allows people worldwide to chat and meet new people. You can join in on different conversations on varying topics. You can choose to listen or participate in the discussion, just like in a clubhouse or a party.
The Clubhouse app launched in April of 2020. It experienced exponential growth, to ten million users, especially when Elon Musk made an appearance in January. The app is valued at nearly $100 million and is growing every day.
How it is Used
When you are invited to the app and sign up, you log in and into the main feed or Hallway. Here there are many Rooms, which are live conversations, either impromptu or planned. You can find the Rooms within Clubs, which are a lot like Facebook groups. The Clubs can be either free for all, by approval or invitation, or a combination. If you are a host on regular Rooms, you can create a Club, and you can decide whom to let into the Club. Each Room at a time has people on stage who can speak. The rest are audiences that can get up to 5000 people at a time. An audience member raises their hands and is called on stage to speak
Privacy Concerns
There have been some privacy concerns with the Clubhouse app, such as:
- All your conversations are recorded. Whatever you say on the app is recorded. The app’s privacy policy states that the recording is purely for incident investigations and security reasons. However, users still have no control over how the collected data is used.
- The app has access to your data. The app has access to your data. When you sign up, you use your real name and email address. You can register the user name you want to use in Clubhouse before you get an invitation. The person who invites you needs your phone number, and you get a link via text message. The message asks you to join via the app and sign in with your number. To make things worse, Clubhouse states that they may share user information with their affiliates, meaning that you won’t even be notified when your data is shared with other parties.
How to Protect Your Online Privacy
If you still want to use the app, make sure you have these privacy concerns in mind. Only grant the app the necessary data and read the privacy policy carefully before agreeing. Besides, you can also use other tools to ensure your anonymity online such as downloading a VPN for privacy, or using a privacy-focused browser when you surf the web.
Conclusion
Clubhouse is an innovative and fun app especially for this time when people are compelled to stay home. However, there are privacy concerns that all users should be aware of. Make an informed decision before you sign up.
Photo by Nathana Rebouças on Unsplash
This is a guest post by Chris Jones from TurnOnVPN
