What you need to know
- Clubhouse today announced Backchannel, its take on direct messaging.
- This is rolling out on iOS and Android today, albeit with only basic support for text chats.
- A V2 update with more features is planned soon.
The longer a social media app exists, the more likely that it'll start picking up features from other social messaging apps. In a change from being pillaged for features by other apps, Clubhouse today launched Backchannel, its own direct messaging service for the eponymous app.
As you'd expect, Backchannel offers rudimentary messaging support. Clubhouse users can opt for group chats, or they can go for 1-1 chat. While you can do the basics such as send and respond to messages, it doesn't support more advanced yet common tasks like sending images, gifs, or videos.
Source: Clubhouse
An update that'll bring more features is planned soon, the company said. While no features were specified, it would be likely focused on plugging those key gaps in function as fast as it can.
Clubhouse sees it as more of a backup to its main audio room feature, though, pitching it as being used as a supplementary tool.
"If you're a speaker, you can use Backchannel to chat with your co-hosts, plan what question to ask next, or decide who to pull up from the audience," Clubhouse said. "If you're a listener, you can chat with your other friends in the audience any time you're in a room." You can also use it to plan events, strike up conversations with people you find particularly interesting, and thank others privately for their contributions.
Users can access Backchannel with the new airplane icon that appears on the latest version of the Clubhouse app on Android or iOS. As with many messaging services, you can only message your friends, and messages from non-friends will get routed into a message requests folder.
Do you still use Clubhouse on Android? Let us know in the comments below.
