Access to telephone directory: consumer protection agencies warn against Clubhouse

The new Clubhouse app is currently still characterized by an air of exclusivity. But that is set to change soon: While the provider wants to end the exclusion of Android users as soon as possible, consumer advocates are making serious accusations.

The Internet talk app Clubhouse is growing rapidly and, according to experts, is on its way to becoming a mass product. "We are focused on opening Clubhouse to the whole world," company founders Paul Davison and Rohan Seth recently announced. Consumer advocates, however, view this with concern - they accuse Clubhouse of violating data protection rules.

With the help of fresh capital from more than 180 investors, the Clubhouse founders want to increase the value of the company to almost one billion US dollars (820 million euros). In the medium term, users will probably also be asked to pay, but exactly how is still unclear. The first test version of the app was only launched at the beginning of last year, and since then the number of users has increased massively. Last May, the number of users was only around 1,500, but now there are almost two million, and the trend is rising fast.

A touch of exclusivity

The app, which has come under fire in Germany for derogatory remarks made by Thuringia's Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow about Chancellor Angela Merkel and cell phone games played by the left-wing politician during important Corona consultations, is currently the number one app in Apple's social networking category for downloads. Clubhouse is not yet available on Android devices.

The business principle is based on a mixture of openness for casual conversations with friends or interesting people around the world on the one hand and a touch of exclusivity on the other. This is achieved by means of an invitation principle: Only those who are invited by an existing user - who in turn may initially only send a maximum of two invitations to others - can have their say on Clubhouse.

Those who manage to gain access can go to virtual rooms and talk to others there via audio signal. A video signal is not provided. Thousands of such rooms are available for this purpose. The exclusion of Android users - the vast majority in Germany - is due to technical reasons, according to the company, and will reportedly be ended as soon as possible.

Access to all stored contacts

Annabel Oelmann from the consumer advice center in Bremen, Germany points out completely different problems. For example, users are supposed to allow access to all stored contacts when registering the app. "This poses the risk that shadow profiles will be created and used for advertising purposes," warns Oelmann. According to the General Data Protection Regulation, however, this is not permitted, as those affected are not informed in advance about the use of their personal data. In addition, according to the consumer center, all conversations can be recorded at Clubhouse if, for example, a rule violation is reported during the live conversation.

"But who then gets access to the contents of the conversation and who will decide when to delete the conversations remains in the dark," Oelmann criticizes. In addition, Clubhouse also collects usage data to create a communication profile. Critics continue to accuse the company of not knowing exactly what data is collected and processed for what purposes. The Bremen consumer center concludes: "Consumers should be aware that they pay for using Clubhouse by revealing their personal data and that of their family, friends and acquaintances.