WeChat facts for kids
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| Developer(s) | Tencent Holdings Limited | ||
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| Initial release | 21 January 2011 (as Weixin) | ||
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| Operating system | Android, HarmonyOS (for watch and bands), iOS, macOS, Windows, Windows Phone, WatchOS, Wear OS | ||
| Service name | WeChat (International) Weixin (China Mainland) |
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| Available in | 17 languages | ||
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List of languages
Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Thai, Vietnamese, Arabic, Turkish
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| Type | Instant messaging client | ||
| License | Proprietary freeware | ||
| Weixin | |||||||||||||||
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| Chinese | 微信 | ||||||||||||||
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WeChat (called Weixin in China) is a popular app from China. It's like a super-app because it does so many things! You can send messages, make calls, play games, and even pay for things.
Tencent, a big company, made WeChat. It first came out in 2011. By 2018, it was the biggest app in the world, with over 1 billion people using it every month.
There are two main versions of the app:
- Weixin is for people who sign up with a Chinese phone number. Their information is kept in China and follows Chinese rules. These rules say you can't share things that might affect China's safety or unity. The government can also ask to see what people do on Weixin. Some topics are also blocked.
- WeChat is for people who sign up with phone numbers from other countries. Their information is stored in places like the Netherlands or Singapore. The rules for WeChat users are a bit different and less strict.
In 2020, WeChat was banned in India because of a disagreement between India and China. The US also tried to ban it, but a court stopped that from happening. Later, the US government officially dropped the idea of banning WeChat.
Contents
How WeChat Started
In 2010, Tencent already had a very popular computer chat app called QQ. But the company's boss, Pony Ma, saw that smartphones were becoming a big deal. He wanted to make a new app just for phones.
WeChat started as a project in October 2010. A person named Allen Zhang created the first version, which Pony Ma named "Weixin." It launched in 2011. At first, not many people used it because it was missing some key features.
But then, in May 2011, they added a cool voice messaging feature that worked like a walkie-talkie. This made the app grow very fast! By 2012, 100 million people were using it. That's when it was renamed "WeChat" for people outside China.
Around 2013, WeChat added ways to pay for things and shop. This became super popular, especially after they did a special "virtual red envelope" promotion for Chinese New Year in 2014.
By 2016, WeChat had over 889 million monthly users. By January 2022, it had more than 1.2 billion users! WeChat Pay, the payment part, had 400 million users by 2014, mostly in China. Other apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp didn't offer as many services as WeChat did.
Cool Things You Can Do on WeChat
Sending Messages
WeChat lets you send all kinds of messages:
- Regular text messages.
- Voice messages (just hold to talk!).
- Broadcast messages (send one message to many people).
- Video calls and group video calls.
- Share photos and videos.
- Share your location.
You can also find and add friends nearby using Bluetooth. WeChat can even connect with other social apps like Facebook. You can add fun filters to your photos and get automatic translations during chats.
WeChat has cool stickers, like the ones you might see on other messaging apps. If you send a message by mistake, you can "recall" it within 2 minutes. This removes it from both your phone and your friend's phone.
A smart feature lets you listen to voice messages privately. If you hold your phone to your ear, it plays through the earpiece. If you move it away, it switches to the speaker. This stops your messages from being played out loud by accident.
Public Accounts
People and companies can create "public accounts" on WeChat. These are like special pages where they can:
- Send updates to people who follow them.
- Talk with their followers.
- Offer different services.
There are different types of official accounts, like service, subscription, or business accounts. Once you pick a type, you can't change it. By the end of 2014, there were 8 million public accounts! These accounts can be used for things like booking hospital appointments or checking credit card info. In April 2022, WeChat started showing where users are located when they post on public accounts.
Moments
"Moments" is WeChat's social feed, like a special timeline where you see updates from your friends. You can post:
- Pictures
- Text
- Short videos
- Articles and music
Your friends can "like" your posts and leave comments. It's a bit like a private social network. Only your friends can see your Moments. If your friends comment on someone else's post, you'll only see it if you are also friends with that person. You can also choose which groups of friends can see your posts. You can even set posts to "Private" so only you can see them.
WeChat also lets you "pin" your favorite posts to the top of your Moments. This means they will always be easy to find, no matter how old they are.
Weixin Pay: Digital Payments
Weixin Pay is a way to pay for things using your phone. If you link your bank account, you can:
- Pay bills.
- Order things.
- Send money to friends.
- Pay in stores that accept Weixin Pay.
Many businesses have small "apps within the app" that let you use these services. You can link Chinese bank accounts, and also Visa, MasterCard, and JCB cards.
Weixin Pay is built into the Weixin app. You can add money to your Weixin Pay account from your debit card or by getting money from other users. If you're not in China, you might need to show an ID to use all the features. If you link a credit card, you can only pay vendors, not add money to your balance.
By March 2016, Weixin Pay had over 300 million users. Its main competitor in China is Alipay. Weixin's "red envelope" feature, which lets people send money gifts, really helped it grow and challenge Alipay.
In 2019, Weixin Pay had 800 million active users, more than Alipay's 520 million. WeChat also launched "WeChat Pay HK" for users in Hong Kong, using the Hong Kong dollar. You can use WeChat Pay in many countries outside China, like Italy and the UK.
WeChat for Work
There's a special version of WeChat called WeCom (or Enterprise WeChat). It was made in 2016 to help people separate their work life from their personal life. Besides regular chat, it helps companies and employees keep track of things like vacation days and expenses.
Mini Programs
In 2017, WeChat added "Mini Programs." These are like small apps that run inside the WeChat app itself. Businesses can create these mini-apps for their services. For example, you can scan a QR code at a store and pay your bill using a Mini Program.
By January 2018, there were 580,000 Mini Programs! WeChat Games, a type of Mini Program, became super popular. The "Jump Jump" game got 400 million players in just three days! The number of people using Mini Programs has grown a lot, from 160 million in 2017 to 450 million in 2021.
WeChat Channels
Launched in 2020, WeChat Channels is a platform for short videos and photos within WeChat. You can create and share your own videos and see what others post. You can add hashtags, locations, descriptions, and links to articles. In September 2021, WeChat Channels started allowing longer videos, up to an hour! Many people compare WeChat Channels to TikTok because they have similar features.
By June 2021, WeChat Channels had over 200 million users. Many people watched online concerts and even a spaceflight launch using this feature.
Easy Mode
In September 2021, WeChat added "Easy Mode." This feature is designed for older people. It makes the text bigger, colors sharper, and buttons larger so it's easier to read and use. It also lets you listen to text messages.
Guardian Mode
Guardian Mode is a feature to help keep users under 14 safe. When it's turned on, some functions like "people nearby" and "games" are hidden. The video channels only show content suitable for younger users. Also, users in Guardian Mode can only add friends using QR codes or group chats. They can also only see the 10 most recent "Moments" posts from their friends.
Other Features
- WeChat Out: In 2016, WeChat launched a service to call mobile phones and landlines around the world. You could buy credit within the app.
- WeChat Index: In 2017, this feature let you check how popular a search term was over time.
- News and Search: WeChat added news feeds and search functions, competing with other search engines.
- Augmented Reality (AR): WeChat has been working on AR features, which let you see virtual objects in the real world through your phone camera.
- Court Communication: In China, courts allow people to communicate with them through WeChat for legal matters.
- Change WeChat ID: Since 2020, you can change your WeChat ID once a year.
- WeChat Nudge: In 2020, a "nudge" feature was added. Double-clicking a friend's profile shakes their photo and sends a vibration, like a gentle poke to get their attention.
- Privacy Settings: Newer versions of WeChat let you check how many times your personal information (like profile picture or name) has been changed.
- Digital Collectibles: In 2022, WeChat made rules about selling digital collectibles to prevent unfair trading.
WeChat Business
WeChat Business is a way people sell things using their WeChat accounts. They use their friendships and connections to find customers. It's different from big online stores because it often involves individuals selling products directly to their friends or followers.
Sometimes, there have been problems with WeChat Business. Some sellers have sold fake luxury items or unsafe products, like certain facial masks. It can be hard for customers to get help if something goes wrong because many sellers aren't officially checked. Also, there isn't always a clear way to check on these businesses, which can lead to illegal activities. WeChat has taken steps to block accounts involved in risky digital money trading.
Marketing and Partnerships
WeChat works with many brands to help them reach users.
- In 2014, Burberry used WeChat to stream its fashion shows live and create special apps.
- Michael Kors also used WeChat for live updates and photo contests.
- In 2016, L'Oréal China worked with a popular online personality, Papi Jiang, to promote their products.
- WeChat has partnered with many Italian companies, helping them sell products in China. By 2017, most global luxury brands were using WeChat.
- In 2020, Burberry and WeChat even designed a special store in China where shoppers could interact with the store digitally through an app.
Where You Can Use WeChat
WeChat's main app works on Android and iOS phones. It used to work on BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and Symbian phones, but not anymore.
There are also WeChat versions for computers (macOS and Windows), but you need to have the app on your phone to log in. These computer versions don't have all the features, like seeing "Moments" or finding people nearby. You have to scan a QR code with your phone to use the computer version.
WeChat and Rules
Censorship Around the World
Since 2013, there have been reports that WeChat blocks certain Chinese words, even for users outside China. This happened because WeChat's servers were all in China, so they followed China's rules. Later, WeChat created two different systems: Weixin for mainland China and WeChat for the rest of the world, to help manage these rules.
After elections in Hong Kong in 2019, Weixin blocked messages about the elections and even disabled accounts of users in other countries, especially those of Chinese background. In 2020, Weixin also started blocking messages about the COVID-19 pandemic.
In December 2020, Weixin blocked a post by the Prime Minister of Australia. The company said the post broke rules about "distorting historical events."
Two Systems for Rules
In 2016, a study found that WeChat used different rules for users in mainland China compared to other areas:
- Only users who signed up with Chinese phone numbers had keyword filtering (blocking certain words).
- Users didn't get a message when their texts were blocked.
- Blocking was stricter in group chats.
- The blocked words changed based on current news.
- The browser inside WeChat blocked Chinese accounts from visiting some websites, like those about gambling or critical reports on China. International users were not blocked from most of these sites.
Blocking Websites in "Moments"
In 2014, WeChat announced that websites needed a special license by the end of the year to be shared in "Moments." If they didn't have the license, WeChat would limit how they could be shared.
Rules in Iran
In September 2013, WeChat was blocked in Iran. The government said it was because WeChat collected phone data and didn't cooperate with them. However, WeChat was unblocked in Iran in January 2018.
Account Rules in China
In July 2021, some WeChat accounts related to university groups in China were blocked and deleted without warning. These accounts had been safe places for young people to share their views for years. Many of the blocked accounts showed messages saying they had "violated" internet rules. The US government expressed concern about these actions. In August 2023, more accounts were closed.
Images for kids
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WeChat logo
See also
In Spanish: WeChat para niños
