WeChat

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WeChat

WeChat logo Android.png
Basic data

developer Tencent
Publishing year January 21, 2011
Current  version varies ( Android )

7.0.1 ( iOS )
December 25, 2018

3.0.1.1 ( Blackberry OS )

2.1 ( Windows )
June 1, 2016

2.3.9 ( macOS )
January 22, 2018

operating system Android , iOS , Windows Phone , Blackberry OS , Windows , macOS
programming language C ++
category Instant messaging
License proprietary
German speaking Yes
www.wechselat.com/en

WeChat ( Chinese  微信 , Pinyin Weixin "tiny message") was originally a chat - service for smartphones , operated by Tencent in China , which now with numerous features such. B. the mobile payment system WeChat Pay (comparable to Google Pay or Apple Pay ) has been expanded. WeChat was released in January 2011 and supports many languages ​​including Chinese , German , Turkish , Polish, and Italian . WeChat forwards almost all data to the Chinese authorities.

Functions

The Chinese ID card can in future be linked to the WeChat account. This not only has advantages for the user, but also for the state. A corresponding pilot program was tested in Nansha , a district of the eleven million metropolis of Guangzhou in southern China, at the end of 2017 . As early as January 2018, the feature could be offered across the country, reports the Xinhua news agency . In addition to pure instant messaging, WeChat offers various additional services: With the app, users can send audio messages, make video calls, share photos, videos, contact information or their whereabouts, order taxis, groceries or meals, pay restaurant and electricity bills, buy stickers, jobs or Look for people nearby, book medical appointments, apply for US visas , play games and run your own mobile stores. The app has its own app store and a news stream called "Moments", which is structured similar to Facebook's chronicle . For companies, WeChat offers services such as closed groups.

WeChat Pay

WeChat Pay

Wirecard AG has been offering the WeChat Pay functionality in Europe as an acquirer since July 10, 2017 . The users open the WeChat or Weixin app and select the Wallet Feature item . The apps generate a QR code every 60 seconds , which is scanned by the retailer with the WeChat acceptance app. Then the dealer enters the amount. The payment process will then start automatically. As an acquirer, Wirecard bundles all of a retailer's transactions and processes the payments. After each transaction, a confirmation is automatically sent to both the dealer and the customer. A receipt can also be printed out at the customer's request. Also SIX is currently engaged to WeChat Pay implement .

In November 2018, WeChat Pay entered into a cooperation with LINE Pay .

Range

WeChat has an average of over 960 million daily users (as of Q3 2017), of which at least 100 million outside of China . By the end of 2016, over 200 million users had already linked WeChat Pay to their debit card and were able to pay at around 300,000 offline retailers in China participating in the system.

The app was advertised by Lionel Messi and Rainie Yang in 2013 and, according to the company, is said to have increased its reach to around 100 million WeChat users outside of China.

meaning

WeChat is much more important in China than is otherwise the case for messengers in the western world. Since the stationary web was less widespread in China's past, online services are mainly used on the move. Thanks to its wide range of functions and the introduction of a payment function, WeChat has become the center of all of their online activities for millions of Chinese. Chinese online businesses therefore don't set up a website first, but create a profile on WeChat beforehand. In this way, more WeChat profiles are created every day than Chinese websites are registered.

criticism

Since the end of 2016, there have been increasing voices that WeChat is being used proactively to spy on users and for Chinese Internet censorship. Researchers at the Citizen Lab of the University of Toronto reported in April 2017, after conducting a systematic study, that WeChat not only filters keywords, but also images that are considered sensitive, from the messages in order to exercise censorship . Since September 2017, the disclosure of almost all information to the Chinese authorities has been part of the official data protection declaration .

Possible blocking of WeChat in the US

On August 6, 2020, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order prohibiting US citizens and US companies from doing business with WeChat parent company Tencent. The presidential decree is largely based on Tencent's WeChat compromising the national security of the United States by the platform collecting user data that would enable China and the Communist Party to spy on American users. The ruling comes into effect 45 days after the announcement at the latest, unless a court finds it unlawful. As a result of the decree, all contracts between US companies and the WeChat parent company Tencent would have to be terminated by September 15, 2020 at the latest.

literature

  • Liu, Yinyuan: Social Media Marketing in China with WeChat Applications, functions and tools for a successful mobile business . Ed .: Springer. Gabler Verlag, Wiesbaden 2018, ISBN 978-3-658-17496-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Installation page for Android. In: Google Play . Retrieved August 16, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Preview page for iOS. In: App Store (iOS) . Retrieved February 1, 2018 .
  3. ^ Message about the update for Windows. In: WeChat blog. Retrieved on August 16, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Preview page for macOS. In: Mac App Store . Retrieved January 25, 2018 .
  5. ↑ a b Pradeep Suresh: WeChat confirms that it makes all private user data available to the Chinese government. In: moneycontrol.com. September 19, 2017, accessed October 2, 2017 .
  6. ↑ a b Monitoring on all channels? Wechat account is to be linked to a Chinese ID In: t3n.de , December 28, 2017, accessed on January 3, 2018.
  7. ↑ Jöel Kaczmarek: The WeChat phenomenon. ( Memento of March 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ).
  8. ↑ René Hesse: Wirecard brings WeChat Pay to Europe. In: mobiflip.de. July 10, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2017 .
  9. ↑ WeChat Pay - Accept the successful Chinese payment solution and secure access to 600 million users. In: Wirecard . Retrieved July 12, 2017 .
  10. ↑ One billion customers: SIX Group brings WeChat to Switzerland In: handelszeitung.ch . April 17, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  11. ↑ Rita Liao: WeChat e-wallet teams up with Line to target Japan's 7M Chinese tourists. In: techcrunch.com . November 26, 2018, accessed December 3, 2018 .
  12. ↑ Product List of Tencent . May 18, 2016 (English, Table 1: Tencent Service Offerings [PDF; 189 kB ; accessed on July 12, 2017]).
  13. ↑ Overseas WeChat users reach 100 million ( Memento from August 20, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (English).
  14. ↑ CIW Team: Top WeChat stats and trends 2017. In: chinainternetwatch.com. December 29, 2016, accessed July 12, 2017 .
  15. ↑ Sven Hauberg: WeChat now has 500 million active users per month. In: ubergizmo.com. NetMediaEurope Deutschland GmbH, March 19, 2015, accessed on March 24, 2016 .
  16. ↑ Emily Parker: Can WeChat Conquer the West? In: Technology Review. heise online , 23 August 2017, accessed on 21 November 2017 .
  17. ↑ Felix Disselhoff: Why WeChat will soon overtake WhatsApp - and rightly so. In: curved.de. An initiative of the E-Plus Group, September 2, 2014, accessed on March 24, 2016 .
  18. ↑ Nectar Gan: China's WeChat censoring “sensitive” photos, not just text, study shows. In: scmp.com . April 13, 2017, accessed October 2, 2017 .
  19. ^ Executive Order on Addressing the Threat Posed by WeChat. Retrieved August 10, 2020 (American English).
  20. ↑ Chinese apps: Trump takes Wechat and Tiktok . In: FAZ.NET . ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed August 10, 2020]).
  21. ↑ China: Trump's Wechat ban could be disastrous for Apple - Golem.de. Retrieved on August 10, 2020 (German).
  22. ↑ heise online: Analyst: Trump ruling against WeChat damages iPhone business. Retrieved August 10, 2020 .
  23. ↑ Ben Sin: Why Trump's Potential WeChat Ban Will Tank Future iPhone Sales In China. Accessed August 10, 2020 (English).