Clubhouse testing private rooms called 'Houses'

After shaking the social media world during the rise of the pandemic, Clubhouse tests private rooms with added features to regarner relevance.

Not long after recent reports suggested live audio chat platform, Clubhouse, is struggling; remaining users spotted the testing of private room called Houses meant to help enable more intimate interaction in the app.

According to reports, Clubhouse saw 3.8 million new installs globally between January 1st and May 31st his year, compared to 19 million installs during the same period in 2021, an 80% year-over-year decline.

As reported by Bloomberg, “The feature, which previously went by the name Social Clubs and is now known as Houses, appeared on some users’ phones in recent weeks. On Wednesday, the functionality appeared to be removed from some phones after Bloomberg requested comment from Clubhouse, but it remained active for other users.”

So how does it work?

Private rooms = "Houses"

• In addition to Clubhouse’s main selection of rooms, which anyone can join as a listener, members of a House can see an additional set of active conversations not available to general users. In those rooms, all participants can unmute themselves and speak, whereas in most standard rooms, a moderator must give someone permission to talk.

• Members of a House can post in a written group chat, where messages stay visible for a week before disappearing. New members are encouraged to write a post introducing themselves.

In the meantime, it’s unclear how well the feature will encourage a different, more permanent means of engagement and activity to what Clubhouse is claiming internally to be a forthcoming strategy shift.

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