Tencent QQ facts for kids
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| Developer(s) | Shenzhen Tencent Computer System Co., Ltd. | ||||||||||
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| Initial release | 10 February 1999 | ||||||||||
| Stable release(s) [±] | |||||||||||
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| Operating system | Cross-platform | ||||||||||
| Available in | Simplified Chinese | ||||||||||
| Type | Instant messaging | ||||||||||
| License | Proprietary | ||||||||||
Tencent QQ, often called QQ, is a popular messaging app and online platform. It was created by a Chinese company called Tencent. QQ lets you do many things online. You can play games, listen to music, shop, and even chat with friends. It also offers group and voice calls. In March 2023, over 597 million people used QQ every month.
Contents
The Story of QQ
QQ first came out in China in February 1999. It was originally named OICQ. This name was a nod to another early messaging service called ICQ.
Later, the company ICQ, owned by AOL, suggested a lawsuit. They felt OICQ was too similar to their name. So, the name was changed to QQ. The letters "Q" and "QQ" were chosen to sound cute. QQ kept many features from ICQ. It also added new things like different looks for the app, user pictures, and fun emoticons.
QQ started as a simple way to send messages in real-time. Over time, more features were added. These included chatrooms, games, and personal avatars. Users could also store files online and even find friends.
The main QQ app works on computers with Microsoft Windows. A test version was also made for Apple's Mac OS X. There used to be web versions of QQ, but they are no longer available. In 2008, Tencent also released a QQ app for Linux computers. However, it did not work with the Windows version and could not make voice calls.
Tencent also created Tencent Messenger. This app was made for businesses. It helped them compete with other messaging apps like Windows Live Messenger.
QQ Membership Benefits
In 2002, Tencent tried to make new users pay a fee to join QQ. But they changed their minds in 2003. This was because other free messaging services were becoming popular.
Today, QQ offers special memberships. These "premium" members get extra features. They can use QQ on their phones, download ringtones, and send text messages. Tencent also has "Diamond" level memberships. There are seven types of Diamond memberships:
- Red Diamond is for the QQ Show service. It lets you have a colorful account name.
- Yellow Diamond gives you more storage and decorations for your Qzone. Qzone is like a personal blog.
- Blue Diamond provides special abilities in QQ games.
- Purple Diamond offers special powers in games like QQ Speed and QQ Tang.
- Pink Diamond gives boosts in the pet-raising game called QQ Pet.
- Green Diamond lets you use QQ Music. This service allows you to listen to music online.
- VIP Diamond gives you extra features in the chat app. For example, it can remove ads.
- Black Diamond provides benefits for the game DNF (Dungeon & Fighter).
QQ Coin: Virtual Money
The QQ Coin is a special online currency. QQ users can use it to "buy" items for their online avatars and blogs. You can get QQ Coins by buying them with real money. One QQ Coin costs one Chinese Renminbi. You can also get them using a mobile phone service.
QQ Coins became very popular, especially among young people in China. Some online shops even started accepting QQ Coins for small gifts. This made some people worry that QQ Coins might start replacing real money.
China's central bank, the People's Bank of China, tried to stop people from using QQ Coins for real goods. But this actually made QQ Coins more valuable. More and more online sellers began to accept them. Tencent says that QQ Coin is just a regular item, not real money.
Qzone: Your Online Space
Qzone is a social networking website from China. Tencent created it in 2005. Qzone is like a personal blog for QQ users. You can choose to make your page public or private, just for your friends. Users can write diaries and share photos there.
QQ Around the World
QQ on Computers
In 2009, QQ started to offer its services to people outside China. They launched QQ International for Windows computers. This version was available through a special English website.
QQ International lets people who don't speak Mandarin Chinese use most QQ features. They can chat, make voice calls, and video calls with other QQ users. It also provides a way to access Qzone in other languages. The app supports English, French, Spanish, German, Korean, Japanese, and Traditional Chinese.
A cool feature of QQ International is its automatic translation. It can translate chats into different languages.
QQ on Phones
An Android version of QQ International came out in September 2013. Its interface is available in many languages. These include English, French, Spanish, German, Korean, Japanese, and Traditional Chinese. Besides text messages, users can send pictures, videos, and audio messages. They can also share multimedia with friends through Qzone.
The live translation feature works for all incoming messages. It supports up to 18 languages.
QQ International for iPhone and other iOS devices was released in late 2013. It has all the same features as the Android version.
Working with Others
Tencent has worked with companies in other countries.
- In India, they partnered with ibibo. This brought chat, email, and games to the growing internet users there.
- In Vietnam, Tencent worked with VinaGame. They brought the QQ Casual Gaming portal and QQ Messenger to Vietnamese gamers.
- In the United States, Tencent teamed up with AOL. They launched QQ Games to compete in the US social gaming market. QQ Games came with the AIM messaging app.
Web QQ: Online Desktop
Tencent officially launched its web-based QQ on September 15, 2009. The latest version was 3.0. WebQQ 3.0 was more than just a web chat app. It worked like its own operating system. It had a desktop where you could add web applications.
Social Network Websites
In 2009, Tencent launched Xiaoyou. This was their first social network website. In mid-2010, Tencent changed direction. They replaced Xiaoyou with Pengyou. Pengyou means 'friends'. They wanted to create a bigger network. Existing QQ users could easily join Pengyou. This gave Pengyou a big advantage over other social networks. Tencent's social network Qzone is also connected to both the international and Chinese versions of QQ.
QQ Fun Facts
- QQ account numbers are just combinations of numbers. The system gives new users random numbers. In 1995, QQ accounts had only 5 digits. Now, they can have up to 12 digits. The very first QQ number belongs to Ma Huateng, the founder of Tencent. His account number is 10001.
- A QQ membership usually lasts one month. If you don't renew it, your account's membership features will pause.
- To calculate your "QQ Age," being logged in for 2 full hours counts as one full day. So, if you are logged into QQ for about 700 hours, your QQ Age goes up by 1 year. In the 2012 version of QQ, you can see your QQ Age on your profile page.
- In 2004, Tencent started the QQ hierarchy. This shows a member's level. At first, it was based only on how many hours a member spent on QQ. The longer you stayed logged in, the higher your level. But people worried this would make users waste electricity. So, Tencent changed it to be based on daily logins instead of hours.
QQ Security
On March 6, 2015, QQ was checked for its security. It scored 2 out of 7 points on a security scorecard. It got points because messages are encrypted when they are sent. This means they are scrambled so others can't easily read them. It also had a recent security check by experts.
However, QQ lost points for a few reasons. Messages are not "end-to-end encrypted." This means Tencent could potentially see your messages. Users also cannot easily check if their contacts are truly who they say they are. Old messages might not be safe if the encryption keys are stolen. Also, QQ's code is not open for others to review. And its security design is not fully explained.
See also
In Spanish: QQ para niños
- Comparison of instant messaging clients
