2021 is the year of voice-based chat and social: here are the best apps for expressing yourself and communicating without pictures or video.
Like all new things, Clubhouse has shaken up the social market and created a new need in the digital audience. The application that in Italy has depopulated at the beginning of 2021 is a social network of the voice, and probably a good part of the interest in it is due to its exclusivity.
The owners of an Android smartphone can not yet subscribe to the most popular social at the beginning of the year. They will be able to do it very soon since Clubhouse for Android is coming soon, but the fact that it has been available for a long time only to iPhone owners has ended up making it a "myth". So the voice socials that already existed like Spoon or Discord have had an unknown popularity, while web giants like Twitter and Facebook have moved in the direction of the novelty of the moment. Therefore, it comes naturally to ask what are the best voice chat apps currently available or, if you prefer, the best alternatives to Clubhouse.
Clubhouse
Let's start with the most popular voice chat app. Clubhouse is a social network where you interact with your voice. It's divided into thematic rooms where you can exchange ideas and content, and it's a platform that can only be used through the app, a bit like TikTok.
Clubhouse membership has a few limitations: the Android app is still under development, so you can only access it through Apple devices, and you can only sign up through an invitation from a user already registered with Clubhouse. Among the aspects that have made and still make the platform one of the most interesting is the attention to privacy: the company ensures that all messages are encrypted, that they are deleted when you close a room and that violent content, containing abuse, harassment or bullying are not only not allowed, but also deleted and sanctioned.
Twitter Spaces
Twitter Spaces is undoubtedly the most recent innovation. It is nothing but Twitter's answer to Clubhouse, so it is a service that finds its dimension in live, in live chats. Away with the text, the element at the base of the success that Twitter has earned over the years, only audio and voice spread in the "rooms", the cornerstones of Clubhouse. Anyone is free to use Twitter Spaces as they see fit: you can enter a room and simply listen, or you can ask the host to actively intervene in the discussion.
Twitter Spaces and Clubhouse are very similar but with some differences, including the fact that the first does not put limits on the number of listeners but only on the number of speakers, including the host, which can be no more than 11. The service is already included in the free Twitter app for iPhone, iPad, Android and in Twitter mobile.
Spoon
Spoon is a social for voice chats born in Korea that could be considered a Twitch with voice instead of video. There is one difference between Spoon and previous proposals: it lacks direct interaction. The host or the streamer, in fact, sets a title for his transmission and becomes the only manager.
Direct interaction is possible through "live calls", conversations in which the owner of the transmission can invite another host or one of the viewers to participate. The reward system has also been borrowed from Twitch, with the audience able to support one or more hosts through donations. Spoon's app can be downloaded for free on both Android and iOS.
Discord
Discord is an indirect competitor to Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces. It was born several years ago as a platform designed for gamers that, thanks to its extreme flexibility, can be used in a similar way to the voice chat apps that are very popular in these months.
Discord in fact allows you to send text messages, multimedia messages such as images or GIFs, and to make voice or video calls to any member whose username you know. The "rooms" of Clubhouse and company also exist on Discord only that they are called "server", and group several users on the basis of common interests, from podcasts of various kinds to hunting and fishing. Any activity, content or passion can become the theme of a server.
It's a cross-platform service: apps are free and available for Android and iOS but also for Windows and Mac computers. Those who want to can also just use the web app through a browser like Google Chrome.