Social audio app Clubhouse rebrands as an audio messaging app

The Live chat rooms aren't going away but the focus will be shifted to becoming more of an audio messaging platform. (Image: Clubhouse)

Clubhouse, the popular social audio app, is rebranding itself as an audio messaging app. The service which gained popularity during COVID-19 by allowing users to organise audio chat rooms has slowly been dwindling in popularity.

The once invite-only iOS app that launched on Android in 2021 saw a significant decline in usage after the world began opening up post-pandemic.

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In April this year, the company announced that it was letting go of 50 percent of its staff due to user habits changing post-pandemic. In a letter to employees announcing the layoffs, co-founders Paul Davidson and Roshan Seth said it became, "harder for many people to find their friends on Clubhouse and to fit long conversations into their daily lives".

Not only is Clubhouse's unique feature, the audio chat room, now part of every other social media app like X's Spaces, it's become clear it needs to evolve to survive.

Part of that evolution is pivoting the app from being a social audio experience to an audio messaging app. In a new update, Clubhouse has announced "Chats", which is a voice-only group chat with selective participants.

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"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," says Clubhouse in a blog post. "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".

According to the company, this will give users a chance to have voice chats with their friends rather than broadcasting to a live audience. The Live chat rooms aren't going away but the focus will be shifted to becoming more of an audio messaging platform.

Let's be honest, it's hard to see anything new here. As an audio messaging app, Clubhouse is going to have an even tougher competing against the likes of Meta's WhatsApp or TikTok.

This isn't lost on the founders, they call it a big bet and hope they are right.