Some Clubhouse users were treated to a surprise feature in their favorite app, but it wasn\u2019t long for this world. A new UI element called \u201cbackchannel\u201d popped up briefly before disappearing late last week, pointing the Clubhouse faithful to a new area of the app and generating plenty of chatter among users ready for more ways to connect.<\/p>\n
\nWow looks like accidental update of @clubhouse<\/a> enabled in app backchannel switch of side bar full experience. <\/p>\n
Seems it\u2019s rolled back now but from what I saw it was beautiful!! <\/p>\n
On stage move to hallway hit arrow back channel popped up! @jowyang<\/a> @GaryLHenderson<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/5bJfVlg7t5<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Brian Fanzo \ud83e\udde2 Keynote Speaker $ADHD (@iSocialFanz) June 18, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
While the backchannel screen was totally blank without so much as a text entry box, it looks like the company is working on building out the text chat feature that Clubhouse CEO Paul Davison previously discussed in a company town hall<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026. I think that there are so many people who do DM backchannels all the time, so many people who want to deepen friendships and relationships with people and do all sorts of other stuff \u2014 I think this is something that we should have,\u201d Davison said.<\/p>\n
The Clubhouse co-founder went on to say that building the feature to suit the app\u2019s use cases won\u2019t be trivial and wouldn\u2019t be happening right away. He also declined to elaborate on if the app would add traditional one-on-one DMs or a more open group text chat feature.<\/p>\n
When reached for comment, Clubhouse didn\u2019t dissuade TechCrunch from the assumption that a messaging feature is around the corner, but issued a coy statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs part of our product building process, Clubhouse regularly explores and tests potential features,\u201d a Clubhouse spokesperson told TechCrunch. \u201cThese functions sometimes become part of the app, sometimes they don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spotify\u2019s new Clubhouse copycat app Greenroom<\/a> offers its own live text chatroom that users can access by swiping right in the app, giving it a bit of flexibility that Clubhouse has yet to offer. From the looks of the Clubhouse backchannel feature, it also lives in a window accessed through swiping, though that\u2019s obviously subject to change.<\/p>\n
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