A Clubhouse feature that power-users have been begging for is finally coming to the app this week: user-created ‘clubs’

• Clubhouse is rolling out a feature so users can start “clubs” within the app and without approval.
• A club is an interest-based group that users can join. Their function is to host conversations.
• It’s the biggest new feature in months, as the company has been focused on keeping the app running.

Clubhouse says it’s rolling out a new feature that will let users start their own “clubs,” or interest-based groups that other users can join, from within the app and without the company’s approval. That’s according to Clubhouse cofounder and CEO Paul Davison, who teased the product update in a “town hall” conversation on the app Sunday.

The feature is the biggest update to the app in months, since it opened the door wider for new folks to join the app.

People who are active on the app have been asking Clubhouse to deliver this feature, but the company has been so bogged down just trying to keep the servers running that it hasn’t shipped many product updates, Davison said.

Clubhouse has a club for almost every topic. There are clubs for Bitcoin boosters, Manchester United fans, solo travelers, female founders, Black influencers, and Tesla owners. Anyone can “follow” a club to be notified when the club starts a “room,” or conversation, to listen in. And a club can host private rooms for members-only.

Currently, a user who wants to create a club has to submit an application and wait for the company to approve the request and build the club in the app, a process that takes days or weeks depending on how long the backlog is.

Soon, users will be able to start their own clubs without the paperwork or the delay, Davison said on Clubhouse. 

The new feature will come as early as Tuesday, he said.

Clubhouse is an invite-only app, but it's lately become more generous with invites. The user base has exploded from about two million daily active users to more than 10 million so far in 2021, Davison said in a previous town hall.

The app has suffered technical difficulties and crashes in recent weeks as the company tries to scale on warp speed.