WeChat: what is it and how does this social network work?

(CNN Spanish) – While WhatsApp and Messenger, both owned by Meta, dominate the market for messaging applications in the West; WeChat is used by almost all users in China, according to the digital research firm, eMarketer. But what makes WeChat different from the other apps?

The WeChat application, called Weixin in China, is used by the Chinese diaspora, including in the United States, surpassing 1.2 billion monthly active users.

Currently, WeChat is positioned as one of the leading social networks in the world market, ranking sixth in terms of the number of active users, according to Statista. Messenger ranks fifth with 1.3 billion users.

However, unlike other messaging applications —which, as the name implies, are mostly used to send and receive messages— WeChat is a daily necessity for hundreds of millions of people in China who use the application not only to send messages and share. photos, but they also use it to travel, pay for things, book restaurants, order food and many other things.

So what is WeChat?

Basically WeChat works like Facebook, LinkedIn, Uber, Instagram and other applications in one. For many Chinese, WeChat is indispensable in keeping in touch around the world.

WeChat is owned by Tencent, China’s largest technology company and the world’s largest gaming company. In September 2021, Tencent reported that WeChat has 1,263 million monthly active users. The company does not publish user figures by country, but industry analysts point out that the vast majority of users are in China.

The app has been subsidized by the Chinese government since its inception in 2011.

What does WeChat offer?

WeChat has many more features in China than in the United States. In the latter country, users can order a taxi, have fun with mini-games, post their “stories” and send money.

While in China, where stores routinely accept WeChat Pay as a form of payment and QR codes are in every city, the sky is the limit. Within WeChat, you can pay bills, browse restaurant menus, find local meeting places, book medical appointments, communicate with new business contacts, file police reports, read news, and access banking services.

Privacy and censorship issues

Part of WeChat’s success is due to the fact that the social network has been supported by the government, as a large majority of social networks and messaging applications are blocked by the Chinese government – including Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, Telegram, YouTube, Snapchat, Line, among others — so state-sponsored platforms have become the rule.

Recently, the authorities of the country they blocked the Clubhouse audio platform after it became the go-to app for having uncensored conversations on a number of sensitive topics banned on other platforms. Soon after, Signal, the encrypted messaging service, was also blocked.

According to the report “Online freedom in 2021Freedom House’s “On Internet Freedom Social Platform Blocks Have Helped Platforms Like Tencent’s WeChat And Sina Weibo” That Are Subject To Stringent Government Censorship Demands “To Grow Exponentially. Weibo Is The Chinese Networking Platform similar to Twitter.

And like other Chinese-sourced apps, WeChat has a reputation for being heavily supervised by Asian government authorities. Even despite Tencent’s attempts to convince users to “stay cool” because “respecting user privacy has always been one of WeChat’s most important principles,” as the company wrote. in a blog post in 2018.

In a report from Amnesty International, issued in 2016, On user privacy, Tencent scored 0 out of 100 for WeChat’s lack of free speech protection and lack of end-to-end encryption. Tencent does not disclose when the Chinese government requests user data and does not give details about the type of encryption, if any, it employs.

The role of WeChat and Weibo in the case of tennis player Peng Shuai

Peng Shuai, 35, a former French Open and Wimbledon doubles champion, on Nov. 2 accused retired Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli of pressuring her to have sex, according to screenshots of a post, which have since been deleted. , from Peng’s verified Weibo account.

His extensive post, which took place shortly after 10 p.m. on Tuesday, November 2, was removed in less than 30 minutes. Screenshots of the message had initially circulated on social media and in private chat groups, but were soon censored as well, along with other messages about the case.

Peng’s verified account, which has more than half a million followers, remains on Weibo through Wednesday night. But they blocked her from searches. All comment sections of your previous posts were also closed.

In a display of the unprecedented level of censorship, comments on a Weibo talk page about tennis were even shut down. And obscure references to the scandal were also removed.

Since then, there has been growing concern about Peng’s whereabouts.

However, Shen Shiwe, a journalist for Chinese state media, tweeted three photos of Peng Shuai on Friday, November 19, and wrote: “The WeChat Moments of Peng Shuai posted three more recent photos and said, ‘Happy weekend. of their accusations.

CNN cannot independently verify that Peng recently posted these photos to WeChat or when they were taken, or the authenticity of the original 1,600+ word impeachment post. CNN has also contacted Peng for comment, as well as the Information Office of the State Council of China, which handles press inquiries from the central government.

CNN’s Shannon Liao, Nectar Gan, Yong Xiong, and James Griffiths contributed to this report.