WeChat is the most popular messaging application in China, with a monthly user base of over a billion people. However, outside of China it is not as popular, although it already has its audience. And the reason why it is popular in China is because they have teamed up with several companies to add functions such as payment through the app, and even carry out other bureaucratic procedures of the most varied, from paying bills to filing for divorce, yes divorce through an app…
It is owned by Tencent, one of the largest companies in Asia. They developed this messaging service to compete with Facebook's WhatsApp or with Messenger itself, but it has ended up being much more than that, as I will tell you below.
Instant Messaging
Wechat first and foremost is a instant messaging app, to use it to chat with acquaintances. With everything you can expect from this type of app, such as WhatsApp, that is, sending and receiving text messages in private chats, in groups, sending and receiving files that you want to share, and much more. You can also scan someone else's phone to get the QR code and add it directly to Wechat without having to ask for their phone number, nicknames, or anything like that. As an identity document that makes things much easier.
For all those benefits, WeChat has become one of the main forms of communication in China. And it is not only used for private use, but also for business, since many entrepreneurs prefer this more direct form of communication to email and it is very common for deals to be made through it.
On the other hand, there is also a social feature called “Moments” in which users can upload images or videos to share with their contacts who can like the publication. That is, as a kind of mini social network, similar to WhatsApp moments.
Other functions of Wechat
Wechat, as I said before, is also more than an instant messaging app, and has become another tool for Chinese citizens, with the possibility of:
- Make payments: you can go to large surfaces, such as supermarkets, and pay with it, as well as small street vendors, taxis, etc. Anywhere in China you can pay with it. You just need to have a bank account in China and you can now link it to WeChat. There are two ways to pay, you can scan the Wechat QR code, which is unique, or scan the barcode of the store where you are going to buy. Then you enter your security code for access and authorize the transaction.
- make transfers: Money transfers can also be done instantly through Wechat. In this way it is also possible to pay bills or simply make movements between accounts for other reasons. Thus it has become the biggest rival of Alipay, the subsidiary of the Alibaba group.
- miniapps: Companies can also launch mini-programs within the instant messaging app itself with some application. For example, companies will be able to send messages to customers, make restaurant reviews, etc.
- Bureaucracy: you can also do much more than that, being able to carry out other bureaucratic tasks such as managing assets, recharging the phone if it is a prepaid card, accessing games, and many other procedures.
As you can see, it is much more complete than Telegram, Whatsapp and other applications, integrating many services in a centralized way. For this reason, millions and millions of Chinese use it daily as one of their favorite apps and now it comes out of China to try to conquer more users, although not without controversy, since some have accused it of being an alleged app controlled by the government of the Asian country, and they have it on their blacklist.
How to install the app
Finally, it is also important to know that you can install it if you want outside china. Although all these additional services will not work, you will only be able to have instant messaging and social services, since the rest are not supported by the businesses here. Well, that being said, to download and install it you just have to go to Google Play, search for Wechat, click on it when it appears in the list, and press the button to install. Of course, remember that you must have other contacts that also have it, otherwise you will be alone in it and it will not do you any good.
If you want everything to be much easier, you can install it directly by clicking on this link that we leave you so you do not have to leave this page:
Enjoy the Wechat app! Without a doubt, if you want an alternative to WhatsApp, it is a good app, if you are not convinced by others such as Telegram, Signal, etc.