Airchat Explained: What Is It, How It Works, and How to Use It

Think of an app where you use your voice to create posts, and read others’ messages and hear them. Where starting a conversation is as simple as replying to others. Sounds intriguing, right? Well, the latest obsession among netizens, Airchat is a new app that does exactly that. It aims to be a social media platform focused on your voice. So, if that has piqued your interest, continue reading as we go over Airchat in greater detail, including how to use it and join it.

What is Airchat? An Overview

Airchat is a new-age social media platform created by Naval Ravikant, founder of AngelList, and Tinder’s ex-chief product officer Brian Norgard. The app works like any other social media service where you can create and share posts and send each other messages. The only difference in Airchat is that instead of texts, you use your voice.

Yes, Airchat does not feature an option to send texts instead, you record voice notes which are transcribed to text with the help of AI that you share with others. This gives you the best of both options. Read the text post if you are in a crowd or meeting, or listen to the voice note if possible.

The app is essentially X or Threads with just increased emphasis on voice notes. It even shares an identical layout to said platforms and most other elements as well, essentially providing a more personal alternative where you can listen and start a conversation with like-minded people.

How Does Airchat Work?

Like any other app, you share your thoughts by creating a post on Airchat. Except to create one, you use the mic button in the middle and hold on to it to record your voice. Release the button when you are done. Your audio will be transcribed and then shared automatically.

There is no option to edit or pause the voice note (yet). You can swipe left to delete the note if you don’t like it or delete it afterward. The same is the case when you want to reply to someone or drop someone a private message. You have to use your voice which gets transcribed. You do have the option to attach an image or link to your posts.

You can read the transcribed text posts on your home feed like you would on X. Alternatively, tap the hovering play button to listen to posts from other users in their recorded voice. You do get the option to change the playback speed (up to 3x).

Replies on the app appear horizontally. You can browse through each reply by tapping on the profile picture and listening to their responses. You can record your reply by tapping the mic button below the post itself.

How to Join Airchat and Set up Your Account

If you want to be part of Airchat’s growing community, then you will need an invite from someone who is already using it to join it. Let’s say you managed to secure an invite, then here is a step-by-step process to set up your account.

1. Download the app on your smartphone using the invite link. You can also install the app from the Google Play Store or App Store.
2. Tap on the Continue with Phone option. The app will ask for your phone number anyway if you choose Email as the signup option.
3. The app will send a four-digit OTP (one-time password) to your phone number. Enter the OTP and press Continue to move forward.

4. Now, type your full name and username in their respective fields. Tap on Continue again.

5. Press the avatar icon to upload an image for your profile picture. Next, tap the Continue button. You can use your image or add a random one.

6. Next, allow the requested permissions by tapping on each one of them. You can tap on Skip to avoid sharing these permissions during setup if you want to.
7. Then, the app will suggest some accounts you can follow to get started. You can tap the Follow button adjacent to the people you wish to follow or tap on Skip to ignore this step.
8. Tap Continue for the last time to finish the setup process.

After you have set up your account, you can invite others and start posting voice clips that will be transcribed into text automatically.

How to Invite Others to Airchat

Once you have made your way into the app, you will be able to invite your other friends as well. The catch is that you can only send two invites so choose wisely. Use these steps to invite other users on Airchat.

1. On the home page, tap on the gift icon at the top left corner.
2. You will have to provide the contacts permission to share an invite.
3. Here, browse through your contacts and tap on the Invite button to send an invite.

We encountered an issue where the contacts did not show up even after providing the said permission and had to manually enter their phone number to send an invite. Hopefully, it will be fixed in the future.

If you try to join the Airchat without an invite then you will see the page below. It will display a user already on the app you may know. You can contact them outside the app and request them to send you an invite link.

How to Search and Follow Other Users

At first, your Airchat feed might look pretty empty and deserted. So you should look for more people to follow and here is how you can do that.

1. Tap on the search icon from the bottom navigation bar.
2. This page will show you suggestions for people to follow.
3. You can even search for specific users from the search bar above.

Airchat App: Can It Compete with X or Threads?

In its execution, Airchat seems to be an interesting app. Voice notes are certainly better than texts when it comes to communication with one another. Furthermore, the audio and tone will better explain your message and the intent behind it.

As an added advantage, it verifies that the other person is an actual human, not a bot. Something that platforms like X have a hard time dealing with.

My only issue is that it borrows a lot from existing platforms like X and Threads. X already has its Spaces feature where people can interact with each other through voice. And Threads lets you attach voice notes with your posts. Plus, a platform solely based on voice notes can get cumbersome as the user base grows. I mean, has Airchat figured out how it will handle bots and AI voices?

Still, you can divide users among groups based on their interests, but then you are edging close to Clubhouse, a once popular voice-based social media platform. Airchat is already testing video notes with its iOS version, so it will be interesting to see how it develops further.

I just feel like they should try to find their own identity instead of improving on X or its alternatives. But what do you think about Airchat? Let us know in the comments.