Facebook's Vision of Future? Looks Like Chinese App WeChat (Text)

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Silicon Valley & Technology

Facebook's Vision of Future? Looks Like Chinese App WeChat
 March 07, 2019 2:51 PM  
Associated Press

[Image- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is seen during a keynote speech in San

Jose, California, May 1, 2018. ]
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LONDON — 
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is taking the social media company in a new

direction by focusing on messaging. Chinese tech giant Tencent got there years

ago with its app WeChat.

Zuckerberg outlined his vision to give people ways to communicate privately, by

stitching together Facebook's various services so users can contact each other

across all of the apps.

That sounds strikingly similar to WeChat, which has become essential for daily

life in China. WeChat, or Weixin as it's known in Chinese, combines functions

and services that in the West are done by a number of separate companies —

think of Facebook and its Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram services combined

with PayPal and Uber.

WeChat, launched in 2011, has the usual chat features — instant messaging and

voice and video calling, though it doesn't employ top-notch encryption like

Facebook's Whatsapp. Here's a look at what else it does.

[Mobile money]

The WeChat Pay digital wallet is one big reason the app has become an

indispensable part of life for people in China. By linking a credit card or

bank account, users can pay for almost anything: movie tickets, food delivery

orders, and subway and bus tickets.

[ Image - A WeChat logo is displayed on a mobile phone as a woman walks past,

July 21, 2016.]

You can split restaurant bills with your friends, pay your electricity bill,

store digital coupons, and donate to charities. There's a "quick pay" function

that lets users scan a matrix barcode to pay instead of pulling out cash or a

payment card.

You can also hail a ride from Didi Chuxing, China's equivalent of Uber.

And in a uniquely Chinese touch, WeChat users can send each other virtual "hong

bao" or "red packets," money that is traditionally gifted in red envelopes

during the Lunar New Year holiday.

[Social]

The app hosts group chats where users can discuss topics like sports,

technology, social issues, investment ideas, celebrities, breaking news and

beyond. WeChat Moments is a scrolling social media feed where users can write

posts and share photos and videos.

The app rolled out a new feature this year, Time Capsule, that removes user

videos after 24 hours, in an apparent attempt to mimic Facebook's Stories

feature.

Users can also send friends digital stickers, get access to online games and

find out who's nearby by shaking their phone.

Companies and organizations both inside and outside China can use the app for

marketing by setting up an official account. Travel booking platform AirBnb,

luxury goods company Chanel and Chinese tech giant Huawei are among brands with

a presence on WeChat.

[The Chinese model]

WeChat and Weixin had nearly 1.1 billion users as of September, up 2.3 percent

from the previous quarter and 10 percent from the previous year, according to

its most recent quarterly earnings report.

It is wildly popular in mainland China and less so in other countries, which is

unsurprising because the communist leaders in Beijing have blocked its citizens

from accessing Facebook and other Silicon Valley services for years.

But there's one thing that WeChat doesn't let users do: Speak freely.

Politically sensitive posts are regularly scrubbed from the service,

illustrating how the app has become a key part of China's censorship regime

because of its huge user base and outsize social influence. Hong Kong

University researchers found that about 11,000 articles were removed from

WeChat last year, a number that doesn't include posts blocked before

publication by automatic keyword filters.

WeChat also lacks so-called end-to-end encryption, considered the gold standard

for privacy and used by Facebook and other services like Signal and Apple's

iMessages.

Chinese dissidents and activists have long suspected that authorities are able

to monitor what they've been saying on the app. The company, however, has

denied it keeps a record of user chats.

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