After launching its Clubhouse-styled Reddit Talk audio chatroom in April last year, the social platform has recently welcomed some new features. Covers network compatibility, historical meeting recordings, support for real-time comments during conversations, and a status bar (like Twitter) at the top of the home page that indicates an ongoing live chat.
In the past three months, I’ve seen a more than 250% increase in daily active users,” wrote a member of the Reddit Talk product design team in a blog post.
Among the more than 1,000 subreddits with live audio chats in the community include subreddits such as investor Kevin O’Leary’s r/cryptocurrency and the “Jackass” stuntman’s r/movies.
At first, the idea of a voice chat room for Reddit Talk seemed a bit counterintuitive, as many of the Reddit users who flocked to the platform came to speak anonymously.
Earlier versions of Reddit Talk chat rooms were relatively limited (audiences could only raise their hands to speak), but recent feature updates (allowing comments/emojis) have taken the interactive experience to a new level.
While Reddit Talk is currently only available as an Android/iOS mobile app, the company will also open up the desktop/web experience later this month.
In addition, Reddit Talk has improved network compatibility, updated the live status bar, and added asynchronous listening to make it easier for users to participate.
Finally, it should be noted that currently only Reddit moderators can initiate real-time voice chats, and interested users can submit hosting applications through Google Forms.
As for when the Live Audio feature will be extended to Reddit users other than moderators, a company spokesperson said it has no plans to do so.