Twitter on Tuesday announced that it is expanding its audio chat feature Spaces to Android users in India, to give them a chance to join, listen, and speak in live, host-moderated audio conversations. Twitter had earlier tested Spaces with a small group of people on iOS.
Currently, the feature is available as an early preview for a select few Android users who are part of the app's Beta programme in the country.
In the feature, users can create a 'Space' that their followers can join to participate in a conversation.
Anyone on Twitter can listen in on the conversation, though only the host can control who gets to speak.
Twitter said it is working to give everyone the ability to create and host Spaces on both Android and iOS soon.
The move comes at a time when invite-only, audio-chat app Clubhouse is fast gaining popularity among the social media users and Facebook is also reportedly working on an audio chat product.
Twitter first started testing the new way to bring conversations to life with Spaces in December 2020.
The human voice can convey nuance, emotion and meaning often lost in the text. It can add a layer of empathy that humanises public conversation.
Spoken-word, therefore, feels like a natural extension to the existing text-based formats on Twitter.
While voice tweets opened the door for expression using audio on Twitter, voice messages in Direct Messages (DMs) give people another way to express themselves in private conversations.
Now, Twitter is testing Spaces.
Among other features, the company also keeps a copy of Spaces for 30 days to check for any violation of its policy in case of a complaint.
“It is an exciting opportunity for the company which has been for many years trying to unlock more conversation and more nuanced conversation and we found it in Spaces,” said Nikkia Reveillac, head of Twitter Research.
