Twitter is rolling out “Spaces” for some users in India. Twitter Spaces is a virtual chat room service that allows users to join or host voice chats on the platform.
First announced in November, Twitter Spaces was available to a select few users in December as a part of beta testing and now Twitter has confirmed that it has rolled out the feature to some users in India to test and seek their feedback.
In a response to TechRadar’s query, Twitter India confirmed that “We have given a small group of diverse voices, including people in India, access to Spaces to test the feature. By seeking feedback from a variety of communities early on, we can make the product better for everyone. The experiment will expand over time.”
Twitter Spaces is similar to the new voice-based invite-only social media platform Clubhouse that is only available to iOS users as of now. While Android users still wait outside the Clubhouse, Twitter is working on both the Android and iOS apps simultaneously. It even shared a video of this feature working on both the platforms.
Android gang…we haven’t forgotten about you🔥🔥🔥 @af_mada pic.twitter.com/SLaE1bXZUzJanuary 29, 2021
Though Clubhouse has users like tech CEOs like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma apart from other notable names like Silicon Valley investors such as Marc Andreessen and Hollywood notables like Tiffany Haddish and Ava DuVernay, its user base is limited at the moment. This is where Twitter has a chance to democratize audio chat discussion thanks to its global presence.
That said, both Twitter and Clubhouse have been in the news of late. Though the latter has been banned in China after Chinese users started voicing out issues like China-Taiwan relations, as well as the Chinese government’s genocide of Uighur Muslims. Clubhouse now joins the list of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and others that are already banned in China.
Twitter, in India, has been at loggerheads with the government to take down 1,178 accounts that may “foment trouble.” This order has been issued under Section 69 (A) of the information technology act that allows the government to take action against posts and accounts that may pose a threat to public order.
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