Clubhouse Users Can Now Send Direct Messages With New Feature 'Backchannel'

The audio-based social media startup Clubhouse on Wednesday officially revealed its direct messaging feature called “Backchannel,” adding a new dimension to its voice-only network.

What Happened: Backchannel will allow users to send direct messages to each other or in a group, in a text only format.

In a LIVE room, speakers can accept text-based questions and listeners can now submit questions, even if they are not able to come up on stage.

Clubhouse claims it had accidentally leaked the direct messaging feature to a select group of users last month. The San Francisco-based startup said it is working on more features.

Why It Matters: Clubhouse, a little-more-than-a-year-old buzzy app, has stirred rival social media companies such as Facebook Inc FB, Microsoft Corp-owned MSFT LinkedIn, Twitter Inc TWTR to build their own versions of audio social media apps.

The startup shot to prominence after securing endorsements and appearances from celebrities such as Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk and Facebook's Mark Zuckerburg.

See Also: Clubhouse Adds 1 Million Users On Android In A Week

Clubhouse surpassed the 10 million subscriber mark for iOS in February, according to data from SensorTower, an app-data research firm. 

A month ago, Clubhouse said it has doubled its subscriber base to more than two million new users on the Android mobile operating system, an Alphabet Inc-owned GOOGL GOOG, weeks after it was made available to users outside the iOS ecosystem.

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