Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

What is Clubhouse, the invite-only social media app used by Elon Musk, blocked in China?

What is Clubhouse, the invite-only social media app used by Elon Musk, blocked in China?

Clubhouse is an up-and-coming social media platform that connects people via audio chat.

Clubhouse is an up-and-coming social media platform that connects people via audio chat rather than posting status updates or sending direct messages.

The app officially launched in April of 2020 and is valued at $1 billion, according to Axios, and presents an alternative form of social media that deviates from more traditional online communication, which can become quickly hostile when people type their thoughts rather than share them through real conversation.

"When you open the app, you can see 'rooms' full of people talking — all open so you can hop in and out, exploring different conversations," a July blog post from Clubhouse reads. "You enter each room as an audience member, but if you want to talk you just raise your hand, and the speakers can choose to invite you up. Or you can create a room of your own."

Notable Clubhouse users include Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, TV show host Oprah Winfrey, actor Ashton Kutcher and a number of well-known rappers including Drake, Meek Mill and 21 Savage.


Shares of Agora, a China- and U.S.-based programming company that provides the tools necessary to power the Clubhouse app, have surged in recent months. The firm is set to post fourth-quarter 2020 earnings later this month.


Clubhouse did not immediately respond to an inquiry from FOX Business.

The app has not only presented a new way for users around the world to connect and share ideas online as the 1COVID1-19 pandemic keeps people physically apart, but it also presented a new way for Chinese users to connect beyond the country's "Great Firewall," which allows the government to block its citizens from using thousands of popular websites and apps ranging from Facebook to Twitter to Google.

The app temporarily allowed thousands of Chinese users to engage in unfettered discussions with people abroad about democracy, Taiwan and other sensitive topics at a time when President Xi Jinping’s government is increasingly hostile to independent voices.

"This kind of communication is rare," Zeng Jiajun, a former tech worker, told the Associated Press. "Hearing someone’s voice can make both sides realize we’re all human."

China banned Clubhouse around 7 p.m. on Monday, according to GreatFire.org, a nonprofit U.S. group that monitors Chinese internet filtering and tries to help users circumvent it.

Clubhouse registration is currently invite-only, meaning only those who are invited to use the app can join right away. Those who want to register without an invitation can pre-register by selecting a username and sharing a phone number with the app.

"We are a small team, and we haven’t yet finished building the features that will allow us to handle more people," Clubhouse's July blog post reads. The app had only two employees at the time the post was published, and the company was "actively hiring."

The app's information requirements for new users prompted warnings that Chinese users might face official retaliation for their comments. There was no indication as of Tuesday whether anyone had been punished.

The app was removed from Apple Inc.’s China store by at least Dec. 16, according to Benjamin Ismail, an activist with the group Apple Censorship, which tracks censorship in the Apple Store. Users still could download it if they had access to an Apple app store abroad.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×