EdgeXplore

Twitter loves to innovate by “borrowing” features from its competition. Last year it was “Fleets,” its own version of Instagram Stories, and now Twitter is taking on the burgeoning social media app Clubhouse with its new “Spaces.”

Twitter Spaces are public chat rooms that anyone can create and join. Hosts control who has speaking privileges—currently up to ten speakers can be involved in the conversation—but anyone can tune in, and there’s no limit to the number of listeners. The conversations are automatically transcribed by Twitter, and you can download the transcript for up to 30 days.

So yes, Twitter’s Spaces are almost identical to Clubhouse’s chat rooms in function—but, y’know, through Twitter instead.

Clubhouse grabbed headlines as the next big thing earlier this year (though its rapid growth seems to have stalled), so it makes sense Twitter wants to get in on the new format. I’m not sure Twitter is where I’d want to host a public conversation, but Spaces is still in beta and could see plenty of revision between now and its eventual public rollout.

Currently, the functionality is limited; additional features like paid “Ticketed” Spaces, scheduling and reminder tools, and co-hosting options are planned, but for now the most you can do is host and join Spaces within the mobile app.

As of May 3, accounts with at least 600 followers can host Twitter Spaces, but anyone can listen in as long as they’re using the Android or iOS app. When the feature is fully implemented, all users will be able to host and join Spaces. (One wrinkle: protected accounts can only join spaces, they cannot host their own.)

To start your own Twitter Space

1. Long press “Compose” and then tap the Spaces icon. (Alternatively, go to your Twitter profile, tap “Fleets,” then scroll over to select “Spaces.”)

2. Select who gets speaking privileges. The options are: “Everyone,” “People You Follow,” or “Only People You Invite to Speak.”

3. If you select “Only People You Invite to Speak,” tap the people you want to invite. They will receive the invite link as a Twitter DM.

4. Tap “Start your Space” to begin, then allow Twitter mic access.

While the call is active, hosts can choose whether to share access to the Space’s transcript, and can block, mute, remove, and report other participants.

To join someone else’s Twitter Space

1. Look for a person’s “Space” at the top of your timeline, or open their Twitter profile.

2. In their Fleets section, scroll over until you see the live Space.

3. Tap to join.

While in Space, users can view other listeners, and react to the conversation with emojis. There are also tools for reporting others to the host if necessary. You can share links to Spaces while they’re live, and can download transcripts up to 30 days after the meeting ends.

Twitter plans to expand the ways you can join Spaces in the future, such as joining active spaces hosted by people you follow directly from the main Twitter feed.

This story was originally published in March 2021 and was updated on May 5, 2021 with new information.