Some disturbing facts about the $4 billion audio app:
It is clear that Clubhouse was not designed with privacy in mind. The app, which initially launched without a privacy policy, leveraged “dark patterns” (manipulative product design) and algorithmic discoverability tactics to gain access to users’ phone contacts and even required users to grant this access before they could invite friends to the platform (those contacts, of course, had no opportunity to consent to that sharing or to even know it was happening). The app also broadcasts a new user’s presence on the platform, one of its many notifications and alerts, and provides no way to block harassers or abusers. Audio files are recorded but not encrypted, and the app also uses invasive tracking tools, including cookies and pixel tags.
Clubhouse is the new Facebook.