WeChat; A multi-purpose social media
WeChat is a messaging social media developed by the Chinese company Tencent. It is a messaging app that integration of different features like E-Wallet, WeChat pay, Loans, and even third-party services for booking rail, Movies, Hotels, etc. So, It is a multi-purpose messaging social media.
WeChat Origin:
In October 2010, WeChat began as a project at Tencent Guangzhou Research and Project centre. Allen Zhang created The original version of the app. Ma Huateng, CEO of Tencent company, named "Weixin" (微信). The company launched it in 2011. By 2012, the company rebranded it with the name " WeChat" for the international market when the number of users reached 100 million.
Important Features :
Messaging
The primary motive of this application is messaging services like text messaging, voice messaging, broadcast (one-to-many) messaging, video calls, and conferencing. It also has the service of video games, photographs, and video sharing, including location sharing. It also allows users to exchange contacts with people nearby via Bluetooth. Besides, it provides various features for contacting anyone at random if desired (if people are open to it). The user also can integrate it with other social networking services such as Facebook and Tencent QQ. One can also embellish with filters and captions, and an automatic translation service is available.
The user can entertain its different instant messaging features like text messages, voice messages, walkie-talkie, and stickers. Users can send previously saved or live pictures and videos too. Besides, any user can send profiles of other users who are on the contact list, coupons, lucky money packages, or current GPS locations with friends.
Accounts
WeChat users can register as public accounts. It enables users to push feeds to subscribers, provide them with services, and interact. Users can also create an official account. The official account falls under service, subscription, or enterprise accounts. The users can't shift their user type either public or official after the account is set up. One can apply to verify the Official accounts of organizations. The verification is not cost-free (costs 300 RMB or about US$45). For services such as hospital pre-registrations, visa renewal, or credit card service, the use of an official account plays vital importance. The registration of the official account with Chinese authorities by the applicant is a must. This discourages "Foreign Companies". The number of WeChat official accounts reached 8 million by the end of 2014.
Moments
"Moments" is the brand name for the social feed of friends' updates on WeChat. It is an interactive platform. Here, it allows users to post images, text, and short videos taken by users. It also allows users to share articles and music especially associated with QQ Music or other web-based music services. Friends in the contact list can leave comments on the content and give reactions with thumbs up. The user can also link Moments to Facebook and Twitter accounts. After linking to that platform, the system automatically posts Moments content directly on these two platforms.
Only the friends from the user's contact can view their Moments' contents and comments. Other WeChat users can also view the likes and comments if they are in a mutual friend group of the user with the moments. Also, the user can limit the viewer for the moments posted. They can separate their friends into groups. So that the particular group of people can only view the Moment. Contents posted can be set to "Private" too.
WeChat Pay; Digital Payment System
WeChat can be used to pay bills, order goods, and transfer money if the users have provided bank account information. One can link their Chinese bank accounts, as well as Visa, MasterCard, and JCB. Although receiving immediate notification of the transaction, this system is not an instant payment instrument. It is because the funds' transfer between counterparts is not immediate. The settlement time depends on the payment method selected by the user.
There is a provision for a payment account for all WeChat users. By linking a WeChat account to your debit cards, the User can acquire a balance. The payment account also can acquire balance by receiving money from another user account. One should pass through the ID verification with a picture of a valid ID and own. Linking credit cards can only make payments to vendors, but cannot top-up WeChat balances. This service can be used for digital payments, as well as payments from participating vendors. The report of March 2016 shows that WeChat Pay had over 300 million users.
The report stated that WeChat had overtaken Alipay of Alibaba. with about 280 million users using WeChat pay in 2019. In the same year, Tencent introduced a payment service for users in Hong Kong; WeChat Pay HK. The transaction is made with the Hong Kong Dollar. Chinese people can use this service in 25 countries outside China including Italy, the UK, and South Africa.
Enterprise WeChat
The company launched the Enterprise WeChat (or Qiye Weixin) in 2016. It is a special version for work purposes, companies, and business communication. It came to the world to help employees separate work from private life. Besides the usual chat features, it can track annual leave days and expenses that are needed to be repaid. It also helps the organization to show the employees are at work by the clock in or time off asked by the employees.
WeChat Mini Program
A mini-program is an app within an app. Business owners can create a small application in the WeChat system. The user implements mini-apps using JavaScript plus a proprietary API. To use this feature, one may install it inside WeChat App. Any user can use this feature in many ways. The list below shows some of the use of this feature.
- Scanning the Quick Response code using their mobile phone at a supermarket counter
- Pay the bill through the user's WeChat E-Wallet.
VOIP service
In January 2016, Tencent launched WeChat Out. It is a VOIP service allowing users to call mobile phones and landlines around the world. This feature also allowed purchasing credit within the app using a credit card. WeChat Out was originally only available in no more than three countries: the United States, India, and Hong Kong. But later coverage was expanded to three more countries: Thailand, Macau, Laos, and Italy.
Dark theme
WeChat released a dark theme for Android users in 2019. They released in early 2020 for iOS amidst rumours later. WeChat would be removed from the Apple store if they do not release a dark theme.
In spring 2020, WeChat changed some of its features like being able to change their WeChat ID more than once and being allowed to change their username only once per year.
WeChat Nudge
WeChat released a new add-on on 17 June 2020. It was "WeChat Nudge". The company first introduced it in MSN Messenger 7.0, in 2005. The feature was called Buzz in Yahoo! Messenger. Similar to Messenger and Yahoo, WeChat Nudge can be accessed by double-clicking on other users' profiles in the chat. This virtually shakes the user's profile photo and sends a vibration notification. Both users must have the latest WeChat update(7.0.13) to entertain this feature. Even one with no latest update can't nudge another user but can still receive nudges. Secondly, A user can only nudge another user if they have previous conversations. So, newly added friends without previous messages cannot nudge each other.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, more features are likely to be added or reduced as per the users' demand. The facts presented here are based on the research done in 2022.
