WeChat facts for kids
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| Developer(s) | Tencent Holdings Limited | ||||||||||||
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| Initial release | 21 January 2011 (as Weixin) | ||||||||||||
| Stable release(s) | |||||||||||||
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| Written in | C++, Dart, JavaScript | ||||||||||||
| Operating system | Android, HarmonyOS NEXT, iOS, macOS, Windows, Windows Phone, watchOS, Wear OS | ||||||||||||
| Platform | IA-32, x86-64, ARM, LoongArch | ||||||||||||
| 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 very popular mobile app. It was created by a company called Tencent. This app lets you send messages, use social media, and even make payments.
WeChat first came out in 2011. By 2018, it became the biggest mobile app in the world. It had over 1 billion people using it every month! In China, Weixin is known as a "super-app." This means it has many different features all in one place. You can text, send voice messages, make video calls, play games, share photos, and even share your location.
There are two main versions of the app. If you register with a Chinese phone number, you use Weixin. Your data is stored in China. If you use a non-Chinese phone number, you use WeChat. Your data is stored in places like the Netherlands or Singapore. Weixin has stricter rules about what content can be shared.
Contents
How WeChat Started
The Beginning of a Super App
In 2010, Tencent already had a very popular computer messaging app called QQ. The company's CEO, Pony Ma, saw that smartphones were becoming very important. He wanted to create a new app for these phones.
WeChat started as a project in October 2010. The first version was made by Allen Zhang. Pony Ma named it "Weixin." It launched in 2011. At first, not many people used it. But then, in May 2011, a new feature was added. It was like a Walkie-talkie for voice messages. After that, more and more people started using the app.
Growing Big and Going Global
By 2012, Weixin had 100 million users. That's a lot of people! To reach users outside China, it was renamed "WeChat." This new name was for the international market.
The Chinese government also supported online shopping. So, in 2013, WeChat added features for payments and shopping. These features became very popular. Especially after a special "virtual Red envelope" promotion for Chinese New Year in 2014.
WeChat's Huge User Base
By 2016, WeChat had over 889 million monthly users. By January 2022, this number grew to more than 1.2 billion users! WeChat Pay, the payment service, also grew quickly. It had 400 million users by 2014. Most of these users were in China.
Other apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp also had many users. But they didn't offer as many services as WeChat. WeChat earned a lot of money from its extra services.
International Challenges
In June 2020, WeChat was banned in India. This happened because of a border issue between India and China. Other Chinese apps, like TikTok, were also banned.
The former U.S. president, Donald Trump, tried to ban WeChat in the U.S. in 2020. But a court stopped this ban. Later, in June 2021, President Joe Biden officially ended the efforts to ban WeChat in the U.S.
What WeChat Can Do
Sending Messages and Talking
WeChat has many ways to communicate. You can send text messages, voice messages (like a walkie-talkie), and even video calls. You can also share photos, videos, and your location.
- Voice-to-Text: If you get a voice message but can't listen, WeChat can turn it into text for you.
- Message Recall: If you send something by mistake, you can take it back within 2 minutes.
- Nearby People: You can find and connect with people close to you using Bluetooth.
- Filters and Translation: You can add cool filters to your photos. The app can also translate conversations for you.
Public Accounts for Everyone
WeChat lets people and organizations create "public accounts." These are like special pages where they can share updates with followers. They can also interact with their subscribers. Many hospitals, banks, and fashion brands use these accounts. They can offer services like booking appointments or checking credit card details.
In April 2022, WeChat started showing the location of users in China when they post on public accounts. For users outside China, it shows their country based on their internet address.
Moments: Your Social Feed
"Moments" is WeChat's social media part. It's where you can see updates from your friends. You can post pictures, text, and short videos. You can also share articles and music. Your friends can "like" your posts and leave comments.
- Privacy Settings: Only your friends can see your Moments. You can even choose which groups of friends see certain posts. For example, your school friends won't see comments from your family friends unless they are mutual friends.
- Pinned Posts: You can "pin" important posts to the top of your Moments. This makes them easy to find later.
Weixin Pay: Digital Money
Weixin Pay is a digital wallet inside the app. If you link your bank account, you can use it to pay bills, buy things, and send money to friends. Many stores accept Weixin Pay.
- How it Works: You can add money to your Weixin Pay balance from your debit card. You can also receive money from other users.
- Competitors: In China, Weixin Pay's main competitor is Alipay.
- International Use: Chinese users can use WeChat Pay in many countries outside China, like Italy and the UK. There's also "WeChat Pay HK" for users in Hong Kong.
WeChat for Work
There's a special version of WeChat for work called WeCom. It was launched in 2016. This app helps people keep their work life separate from their personal life. Besides chatting, it helps companies track things like vacation days and expenses.
Mini Programs: Apps Within an App
In 2017, WeChat launched "Mini Programs." These are like small apps that run inside the WeChat app itself. Businesses can create their own mini-apps. For example, you can scan a QR code at a store and pay using a Mini Program.
- Popularity: By January 2018, there were 580,000 Mini Programs.
- Games: WeChat Games are very popular. A game called "Jump Jump" had 400 million players in just three days!
WeChat Channels: Short Videos
WeChat Channels started in 2020. It's a platform for short videos and photos within WeChat. Users can create and share their own videos. They can also watch content from others. You can add hashtags, locations, and links to articles.
- Longer Videos: In September 2021, WeChat Channels started allowing videos up to an hour long.
- Growth: By June 2021, WeChat Channels had over 200 million users. It's still growing fast! Many people watched concerts and space launches using this feature.
Easy Mode for Seniors
In September 2021, WeChat added "Easy Mode." This feature was made for older people. It has bigger fonts, brighter colors, and larger buttons. It also lets you listen to text messages.
Guardian Mode for Kids
Guardian Mode is a feature designed to protect users under 14 years old. When this mode is on, some functions are not available. For example, "people nearby" and "games" are turned off. The video channels only show content suitable for young people. Kids can only add friends using QR codes or in group chats. They can also only see the 10 most recent posts from friends in Moments.
Other Cool Features
- WeChat Out: In 2016, WeChat launched a service to call mobile phones and landlines around the world.
- WeChat Index: In 2017, this feature was added. It lets you check how popular a certain topic has been on WeChat.
- Search and News: WeChat also has news feeds and search functions.
- AR Platform: WeChat has been working on augmented reality (AR) features. This means they are trying to make virtual objects look real on your phone screen.
- Changing WeChat ID: Since spring 2020, users can change their WeChat ID once a year.
- WeChat Nudge: In June 2020, a "Nudge" feature was added. You can double-click a friend's profile in a chat to send a quick "nudge" notification.
- Personal Information Authority: In January 2022, a new function was added. It lets users check how many times their personal information (like profile picture or name) has been changed in the past year.
WeChat for Businesses
WeChat Business is a way for people to sell products using their social network. It's different from big online stores. Sellers post pictures and messages about their products on WeChat Moments or in group chats. They also build friendships with their customers. This helps them gain trust and get more sales through word-of-mouth.
Challenges for WeChat Business
As more people joined WeChat Business, some problems appeared.
- Fake Goods: Some sellers tried to sell fake luxury items. They pretended to be international shoppers but sold fake goods at high prices.
- Unsafe Products: Other popular products, like certain facial masks, were sometimes unbranded and came from illegal factories. These could be harmful to health.
- Lack of Rules: It's hard for customers to get help if they buy something bad. There aren't enough rules or ways to check sellers. This can lead to illegal activities. For example, in early 2022, WeChat stopped many accounts related to NFTs to prevent scams.
Marketing and Partnerships
Special Campaigns
In 2016, WeChat had a fun campaign. Users could upload a photo to "Moments" that other users had to pay to see. The photos were taken down each night.
Working with Brands
Many big brands have worked with WeChat.
- In 2014, Burberry created its own WeChat app. It showed live streams from its fashion shows.
- Michael Kors also used WeChat for live updates from their shows and photo contests.
- In 2016, L'Oréal China worked with a popular online personality, Papi Jiang, to promote their beauty products. Over a million people watched her video.
- WeChat also partnered with Italian companies in 2016. This helped them sell products in China without needing a special license.
- By 2017, most luxury brands around the world were using WeChat.
- In 2020, Burberry and WeChat even designed a special store in Shenzhen. Shoppers could interact with the store digitally using an app.
Where You Can Use WeChat
WeChat's mobile app works on Android, HarmonyOS, and iOS phones. It used to work on BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and Symbian phones, but not anymore.
There are also computer versions for OS X (Mac) and Windows. But to use them, you need to have the app installed on your phone first. You have to scan a QR code with your phone to log in on the computer. This means you can't use WeChat on a computer if you don't have the app on a supported phone. The computer versions also don't have all the features, like "Moments" or finding nearby people.
Keeping Things Safe and Private
Different Rules for Different Regions
WeChat has different rules for users in mainland China (Weixin) and users outside China (WeChat). This is because of different laws and rules in China.
- Weixin (China): If you registered with a Chinese phone number, your data is stored in China. Weixin has rules that forbid content that could "endanger national security" or "undermine national unity."
- WeChat (International): If you registered with a non-Chinese phone number, your data is stored in places like the Netherlands or Singapore. WeChat has less strict rules about content.
Past Issues with Censorship
In the past, there were reports that some Chinese-language searches were blocked even outside China. This happened because WeChat's servers were all in China. To fix this, WeChat created two separate platforms: Weixin for China and WeChat for the rest of the world.
In 2020, Weixin also censored messages about the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2020, Weixin blocked a post by the Australian Prime Minister.
Blocking in Iran
In September 2013, WeChat was blocked in Iran. The authorities said it was because of features like "WeChat Nearby" and concerns about inappropriate content. However, on January 4, 2018, WeChat was unblocked in Iran.
Protecting LGBTQ Accounts in China
In July 2021, several Weixin accounts related to LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) student groups in China were blocked and deleted. These accounts had been safe places for young LGBTQ people for years. The accounts showed messages saying they had "violated" internet rules. The U.S. State Department expressed concern about this. In August 2023, more accounts related to LGBTQ rights and feminism were closed on Weixin.
See also
In Spanish: WeChat para niños
