WeChat is by far the most popular messaging app in China, but the app is also slowly gaining popularity beyond. More than 1.2 billion people now use the app. Yet there has been a recent fuss about WeChat. We will update you.
WeChat started as a chat app, but soon developed into an app with many more options: from arranging a taxi to booking flights, taking out insurance and arranging banking matters. In that sense, WeChat differs greatly from well-known social media platforms.
Despite this, WeChat is still the most used for chatting and it works in a similar way to WhatsApp. WeChat is so popular in China that even business contact is via the app instead of via email. Its popularity can also be partly explained by the fact that many alternatives, including Facebook, are blocked in the country.
WeChat discredited
WeChat is not to everyone’s taste. Especially US President Donald Trump does not want users to use Chinese apps in the United States and demands a ban on WeChat and TikTok, among others. According to Trump, the Chinese apps would endanger national security.
A ban would mean that the apps are no longer offered by Google and Apple in the United States.
However, a judge blocked the ban, leaving WeChat available in the US for now. In particular, the Chinese American community in the country uses WeChat a lot. It remains to be seen whether the decision of the judge is now finished.
WeChat in the Netherlands
WeChat can also be downloaded from the Dutch App Store, but, just like in China, you must know someone who already uses WeChat. The person must scan your personal QR code to confirm your registration with WeChat. If you don’t know WeChat users, it will be very difficult (read: impossible) to use the app. This already creates a somewhat high entry threshold.
Although companies and tourism organizations in the Netherlands also work with WeChat, the focus seems to be mainly on Chinese users. Whether WeChat will appeal to a wider target group in the future will depend on which functions are available in the Dutch version of the app and what added value these options offer compared to the existing range. Apps like Facebook or WhatsApp are still popular and will not be thrown off the throne that quickly.
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