Clubhouse clone Duihuaba removed from app stores two weeks after launch, raising questions about audio chat platforms’ viability in China

  • Inke said it removed its Clubhouse clone Duihuaba from app stores because the app is incomplete
  • Experts are sceptical about whether social audio apps can flourish in China given the country’s strict internet content regulations

The surging popularity of social audio app Clubhouse has also led to a surge in Chinese copycats, but Duihuaba, one of the more popular ones, has already been removed from app stores. Photo: Shutterstock
Hong Kong-listed live-streaming firm Inke has removed its Clubhouse-like app Duihuaba from app stores, citing the need for improvements, just days after it was touted as an attractive replacement in China for the hot overseas audio app that was blocked by the Great Firewall this month.

Duihuaba first went viral just days after Clubhouse, an audio-only chat app that has become the hottest new social media platform in Silicon Valley, was blocked in China on February 9. Now users can no longer turn to Inke’s alternative, which was removed from Apple’s App Store and multiple Android stores on Monday night.

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