Smule: Karaoke Songs & Videos

First Impression

So a guy from work, Mark, kept talking about this app where he could sing duets with random people in Japan. I thought it sounded weird, but last month I was bored on a Tuesday night and downloaded Smule on my iPhone 14. The first thing I noticed was that it asks for permission to access my microphone, camera, and photos—fine, that makes sense for a singing app. But then it also wanted my contacts and location, which I immediately denied. That rubbed me the wrong way. The app itself looked flashy, like a social media feed mixed with a karaoke machine. I picked a random old song, “I Will Survive,” and just went for it. The recording quality was surprisingly decent for my phone speaker, and I liked that I could add a reverb effect. But the free version kept throwing pop-ups for a VIP subscription in my face every time I tried to browse a different song. That got annoying fast. I spent maybe an hour messing around, and honestly, I felt like I was being watched by their servers the whole time.

What It Does Well

The song library is huge—that’s the main draw. I found everything from classic rock to current pop hits, and some older stuff I forgot existed. I sang a duet with a stranger from Brazil on a Wednesday afternoon, and the sync was smooth; their audio came through clear on my end. The social features are decent too—you can follow people, leave little comments on their recordings, and get likes. I got a few likes on my “I Will Survive” cover, which felt nice even though I know I’m not a great singer. The vocal effects, like echo and pitch correction, actually make you sound better than you are, so you don’t feel embarrassed sharing. They also have group performances where up to like eight people can sing together, which is cool if you have friends who are into it. The interface is colorful and easy to navigate once you ignore the constant ads for VIP. I used it at home on my couch and also at a friend’s house during a party, and the app didn’t crash on me once on my iPhone 14, which is more than I can say for some other apps.

Where It Falls Short

Here’s the big problem: the free version feels like a demo. You can only access a limited number of songs without VIP, and some popular tracks are outright locked behind a paywall. I tried to sing a Taylor Swift song and got a screen saying “Upgrade to VIP to unlock this song.” Super frustrating. Also, the ads are relentless. You finish a recording, and before you can even listen to it, a 30-second video ad plays. Want to skip to the next song? Another ad. It made me not want to use the app after a week. The privacy side also bugs me. I looked at their privacy policy, and it says they collect data like your device ID, usage patterns, and even your performance recordings for analysis. That feels creepy for a karaoke app. I don’t need them analyzing how bad my pitch is. Some users in the app store reviews complain about the app lagging on older phones, but my iPhone 14 was fine. Still, the constant upsell makes the whole experience feel cheap. Oh, and you can’t delete your account easily—you have to email support, which I haven’t done, but that’s a red flag.

Is It Worth the Price?

The app is free to download, but calling it “free” is misleading. The VIP subscription costs about $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year, which is steep for what you get. If you’re really into karaoke and want the full library plus no ads, maybe it’s worth it if you use it daily. But for a casual user like me, I’d never pay that. I’d rather go to an actual karaoke bar once a month for that money. The free version is fine to try for a week or two, but you’ll hit a wall fast. I’m not convinced the app needs to cost that much when plenty of other music apps offer more features for less. Maybe if they had a lifetime purchase option, I’d consider it, but a recurring subscription model for a karaoke app feels greedy. I’d say skip the VIP and only use the free stuff if you’re okay with limited songs and constant ads. Otherwise, look for a different app.

Developer & Support

I haven’t contacted support directly because the app worked fine mechanically for me. But I did skim the app store reviews, and there are a lot of complaints about support being slow or unhelpful. People say they email about billing issues or account problems and don’t hear back for days. One review mentioned losing their VIP access after a payment went through and support just copy-pasted generic responses. That doesn’t inspire confidence. The developer, Smule Inc., seems to update the app every couple of weeks with bug fixes, which is good. But they also add new paid features instead of fixing old problems, based on what I saw in update notes. I’d expect a company with millions of downloads to have better customer service. If you have a serious issue, don’t expect a quick fix.

Privacy & Safety

This is a big concern for me. The app asks for way more permissions than it needs. I denied location and contacts, but you have to give it microphone and camera access to use the main features—no workaround there. The privacy policy states they collect audio recordings, device info, and even your social interactions on the app. They also share data with third-party analytics services like Google and Facebook for advertising. That means your singing habits and who you duet with might be tracked. There’s no end-to-end encryption for your recordings either, so Smule can probably listen to them if they wanted to. They say they use data to improve the app, but I don’t trust that. Also, because you can interact with strangers, there’s a risk of creepy messages. I got a friend request from some random guy named “SingKing88” who immediately messaged me “nice voice”—felt a little off. The app has a report function, but I’m not sure how well it works. If privacy matters to you, proceed with caution. I personally wouldn’t let my kids use this.