Clubhouse: Stiftung Warentest checks the data protection of the hype app - and makes a clear judgment

The Clubhouse app caused a hype in Germany too.

The experts from Stiftung Warentest have now examined them in terms of data protection.

• The hype surrounding the audio-based

  Clubhouse app continues

  unabated

  in

  Germany

  .

• Clubhouse

  is the most downloaded app right now.

• The

  Stiftung Warentest

  * criticizes the way manufacturers

  handle user

  data

  .

Kassel -

The audio-based app

Clubhouse

caused a sensation

in the

USA

at the end of 2020

.

Numerous stars such as Oprah Winfrey, actor Ashton Kutcher or US rapper Drake quickly romped about in the various chat rooms of the

app

.

The

hype has

also reached

Germany

.

In this country, celebrities like Thomas Gottschalk, Joachim "Joko" Winterscheidt or influencer Caro Daur use the new social media service from the manufacturer Alpha Exploration Co .. The

Stiftung Warentest

has dealt extensively with the app's data protection guidelines and has expressed criticism.

Because

Clubhouse

collects a large amount of personal

data from

its users.

According to

Stiftung Warentest,

some of them are

"unnecessary" and, so to speak, the "entry price" into the exclusive community.

With the joy of being there, many users forget to exercise caution when dealing with their own data.

Above all, this harbors dangers because the data protection laws in the

USA are

much milder than in the

EU

.

Clubhouse in Germany: Stiftung Warentest checks the app in terms of data protection

The manufacturer Alpha Exploration, based in Salt Lake City in the US state of Utah, relies on “Fomo” (“Fear of missing out”) when it comes to marketing, meaning users' fear of missing out.

You can only join the clubhouse community with an invitation.

In addition, the social media service can only be used with

Apple

devices so far

.

The result: a real hype.

The sometimes very rare invitations for the

app

have even been

offered for a lot of money

on online platforms such as

Ebay

.

+

The audio-only app Clubhouse is not yet freely accessible (symbol image).

© Florian Gaertner / Imago

Data protection at Clubhouse: Stiftung Warentest finds violations of European law

With the personal data that

land on the clubhouse server

through the use of the

app

, the manufacturer receives information about the mobile phone model and the mobile phone provider of the user.

Also,

data

for selecting the respective chat rooms and the duration and time of use of

the Club House

are detected.

In addition, the operator of the app records all calls and saves them at least for a certain period of time.

According to Alpha Exploration, to ensure compliance with the terms of use.

In addition, the app requires access to the users' address book.

The alarm bells are ringing for privacy advocates, experts warn against its use.

The

Stiftung Warentest

has in studying the

app

several violations of European law and more precisely against the

privacy Regulation

(

DSGVO

found).

The Federation of German Consumer Organizations (VZBV) has

already issued a warning to the

clubhouse

operators

.

Statement about the Clubhouse app	Share of the more than 2000 people surveyed in Germany
Never heard of Clubhouse, use inconceivable.	54.4 percent
Never heard of Clubhouse, but imaginable use.	21.1 percent
Already heard of Clubhouse, use unimaginable.	17.3 percent.
Already heard of Clubhouse, use imaginable.	6.4 percent.
Clubhouse users.	0.6 percent.
	Source: OMD

Clubhouse "hungry for data": Experts from Stiftung Warentest criticize the app

In the report from

Stiftung Warentest

it is said that the

clubhouse

is "hungry for data".

In addition, the

GDPR is

not observed in various points.

The manufacturer

Alpha Exploration Co. has

only published its data protection declaration in English.

The testers saw this as an information barrier for German-speaking users.

In addition, the operator has not identified a data protection officer.

There is also

no

imprint on the website of the

app

provider

.

Clubhouse

users are also

not sufficiently informed about their rights.

In addition, there is incomplete information about the purpose and storage period of the data collected.

The test report by

Stiftung Warentest

also shows that the use of user data is too extensive.

Stiftung Warentest: Who can view the Clubhouse data?

It was initially unclear whether

Clubhouse would

also record the location data of its users.

According to

Stiftung Warentest

, this is not the case.

Nevertheless, the data is collected while the

app is

being used - by

Apple

.

The testers found that

while using Clubhouse

,

Iphones

more frequently transmit the location of the device to Apple.

In any case,

Clubhouse can

only be used on devices with the Apple IOS operating system.

Therefore, a large amount of the collected personal data also ends up on

Apple's

servers

in the US state of

California

.

But as Stiftung Warentest explains, two other IT companies from the

USA

also receive

data from Alpha Exploration.

On the one hand Data Theorem, a company for IT security.

On the other hand, with Amplitude, a company that specializes in data analysis and evaluates the data for advertising purposes.

For

Stiftung Warentest

, the

Clubhouse

app

violates the European General Data Protection Regulation.

Despite the high demand, it is clear to the testers.

"If

Clubhouse

wants to assert itself as a new social network in Europe in the long term, it must

improve

data protection

", is the verdict of the testers.

(Yannick Wenig)

* hna.de is part of the nationwide Ippen digital network.

List of rubric lists: © Florian Gaertner / Imago