A messaging app owned by WeChat, the technology and entertainment conglomerate Tencent, and developed by Tencent executive Allen Zhang. WeChat has over 1 billion users each month, most of which are based in China. The app allows users to exchange text messages, create video and audio calls, play games, pay invoices, and share posts with social networks. Tencent is headquartered in Shenzhen, China.
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WeChat was released in 2011 and was the success of Tencent’s email service Foxmail. The app, first called Weixin, was renamed WeChat in 2012, shortly after it hit 100 million users. The switch to English names was intended to appeal to international audiences, but the app’s text and voice messaging feature is still sometimes referred to as Weixin. (Weixin now exists as another app for the service’s mainland China user base, subject to various terms and conditions and privacy policies.) Zhang is currently offering Harvard Business Review in 2019. In an interview with the company, he said he focused on WeChat’s while designing the app. It prefers to “paint first as an impressive work of art,” and is aesthetically palpable as a second commercial product.
Unlike most services offered by large tech companies such as Meta, WeChat boasts a shortage of paid advertising. WeChat’s social media features, such as shopping and gaming options, offer users only one or two ads per day. Like Meta’s apps, WeChat has few restrictions on collecting user data.
Although WeChat is said to not sell user data to advertisers, it provides privacy offered by other messaging apps featuring end-to-end encryption, including international competitor signals and Telegram. It will not be provided to users. Furthermore, WeChat critics often characterize it as an extension of the Chinese government’s surveillance device. The app is patrolled by the Chinese “Internet Police” and punishes users based on WeChat activities. When Wuhan Doctor Li Wenliang sent a message to a group chat in 2019 about the spread of a new virus known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2), he was summoned to the police station and A statement of speech has been signed. His claim is “rumors.” A recent law school alumni who cited Li in a satirical essay about censorship posted on WeChat has similarly harassed and questioned. Others have been accused by law enforcement agencies, ranging from online fraud to social media posts on censored topics to messages that laugh at internet police leaders. The Chinese government is also using WeChat to threaten foreign targets.
Press in the US in August 2020. Donald Trump has sought to ban WeChat and Tiktok (video-based social media apps by Chinese technology companies) from the United States, citing national security concerns. The ban was not enacted during Trump’s presidency, and the order was revoked by Trump’s successor, Press. Joe Biden, 2021. Instead, Biden called for security reviews for both apps.
