Late in October, Twitter announced that Spaces hosts can now record Spaces they create and share them with their audience so users who missed out on live conversations can catch up later. Around that time, this ability was only available to “some hosts” on iOS. The company has now provided an update that users with an Android device can also record their Spaces. The feature is still limited to select hosts but it’s nice to see Twitter gradually expanding its availability.
Additionally, when Twitter first rolled out this feature, users on iOS or Android mobile apps could only listen to a recorded Space. The company is now also expanding that support to the web version of Twitter. So anyone can now listen to recordings of Spaces regardless of what platform they use Twitter on.
Note that you cannot yet start a Space on the web. And since only hosts can record a live Space, you must use Twitter on iOS or Android mobile apps to be able to record your Space. Hopefully, the social network giant is working on the ability to create Spaces on the web as well.
Meanwhile, you can now access Twitter Spaces on the web without an account. Hosts can share a public link to their Space and anyone on the web can join it via that link. No need to sign up or log into a Twitter account.
Recorded Spaces are always public
Twitter Spaces is inspired by the audio-focused social network app Clubhouse, which gained massive popularity during the coronavirus pandemic last year. And it’s unlikely to be a coincidence that both services rolled out recordings around the same time. Moreover, both services are also making recordings public.
If you’re recording a Space, the recording will be immediately and publicly available as soon as the live Space ends. You can delete the recording if you don’t want it to be available publicly. However, do note that Twitter keeps a copy of your recorded Space (unrecorded as well) for 30 days for review purposes. If the finds any violation of rules, it may hold onto that file for another 90 days so you can appeal if you believe it’s a mistake.
Going forward, Twitter is looking to introduce new ways for creators to monetize their Spaces. It is already testing Ticketed Spaces that allows hosts to charge an entry fee from listeners. The company also plans to launch a paid subscription service Spaces, something it does for tweets with the Super Follows program. We will keep you updated with all these developments.
2021-12-08 15:07:10