A picture taken March 6, 2021 shows a woman checking the Clubhouse App on her phone in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. - Political reform, racism, transgender rights -- the audio app Clubhouse has unleashed unbridled debates about topics deemed dangerously sensitive in Saudi Arabia, but surveillance fears have spooked users in the authoritarian state. Banned by the censors in China, the invitation-only app is gaining traction in parts of the Gulf, sparking bold conversations in countries known to curb free speech. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP) | Photo Credit: FAYEZ NURELDINE
Invite only audio chat app Clubhouse could launch on Android around late spring or summer 2021, as per reports.
Clubhouse CEO Paul Davison at the company’s weekly Townhall meeting over the weekend said that the company was working on launching the platform on Android but it is likely to take a “couple of months,” as reported by TechCrunch.
Clubhouse last month hired an Android software developer (via CNBC) which indicates that the work on the Android version of the app has begun.
Clubhouse in late January this year had said that it will begin working on an Android app “soon.”
“With this in mind, we are thrilled to begin work on our Android app soon and to add more accessibility and localization features so that people all over the world can experience Clubhouse in a way that feels native to them,” it had said in a blog post.
Davidson reiterated the idea during the town hall meeting, stating the company is will require a slower pace to scale to a larger market.
According to the Clubhouse co-founder, scaling the app could negatively impact the discovery experience which needs to be tweaked and made more localised and personalised, as per the TechCrunch report.
“It’s going to be really important that we just open up to everyone,” Davison said as quoted by the report.
“Android’s going to be really important. Localization is obviously going to be very important,” he said.
Davison further added that they are hoping to drop Clubhouse’s invite-only status “in the coming months.” The platform further aims to expand reach to include more creators ho have an audience elsewhere, as per the report.
The platform earlier this month also launched its first creator accelerator program. The program will accept 20 creators. The deadline for accepting applications is March 31.
The app has garnered massive popularity after launching on iOS with celebrities like Tesla CEO Elon Musk debuting on the platform.
However, cybercriminals are targeting the app’s popularity and a lack of an Android version by creating fake apps on the platform. Most recently a fake Clubhouse Android app was found to be spreading the BlackRock malware, which steals credentials from 458 services – including Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook and Amazon, as first spotted by Ireland-based ESET researcher Lukas Stefanko, as per reports.
Published on March 23, 2021
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