If any of these apply to you, then you’ll definitely have encountered WeChat before, or need it in some capacity:
Doing marketing or sales in China.
Traveling around the country
Living in mainland China.
Friends in China.
Generally speaking, everyone in China uses WeChat or, I should say, with 1.15 billion active monthly users in total, it’s safe to presume that most people use it. At least every Chinese friend and family member I know under the age of 70 uses it.
When WeChat first started, it was just a simple chat philippine cellphone number app (comparable, in the beginning, to Kik), but now it’s much, much more.
Needless to say, if you’re doing anything in China, you’re going to come across or need WeChat.
This article is based on a 2022 video, but you can also see an updated 2024 version here.
WeChat Versions
Before we begin, It’s worth mentioning that I’m using the Chinese version of WeChat, but I’ve changed the language settings to English.
This is the same WeChat used in China, but a little different from the WeChat that’s downloaded in other places around the world.
Red packets
Here’s an example of what a regular WeChat conversation looks like.
regular WeChat conversation
This one happens to be between my wife and me.
As you can see, it’s just text and images. Unlike other chat apps, WeChat doesn’t let the recipient know whether you’ve received their message or not.
Personally, I think that having no read receipts is a great design choice.
There are a couple of extra features here that are unique to WeChat. For example, one that is popular in China is the “red packet” option.