What is WeChat? It is a messaging and services app from Tencent that also acts as a platform for payments, mini apps and publishing, and it is known inside mainland China as Weixin.
The app belongs to the wider ecosystem described in the guide to chinese tech brands, which places Tencent among the country’s major consumer technology companies.
One app with two names
Weixin and WeChat are two names for services delivered through the same app. Tencent’s product page uses the combined label, listing “Weixin/WeChat” among its consumer products, and its annual results report a single combined user figure for the two.
Which name applies to a given user depends on how the account was registered. According to the WeChat privacy policy, a WeChat user has registered by linking a mobile number that uses an international dialing code other than +86, while a Weixin user has either registered with a +86 mainland mobile number or contracted with Shenzhen Tencent Computer Systems Company Limited for Weixin. The policy adds that Weixin users are subject to the Weixin Agreement on Software License and Service of Tencent Weixin and Weixin Privacy Protection Guidelines, not the WeChat privacy policy.
Who operates it
Tencent describes itself as a company founded in Shenzhen, China, in 1998, and says in its 2025 annual results announcement that its communication and social services, Weixin and QQ, connect users with each other and with digital content and services, both online and offline.
Inside the company, the Weixin Group (WXG) is described on Tencent’s company page as responsible for the construction and operation of the Weixin ecosystem, and for leveraging Weixin’s open platforms such as Official Accounts, Mini Programs, Weixin Pay, WeCom and the search function. The same page says WXG is also responsible for the development and operation of QQ Mail, WeRead and other products.
The research group Citizen Lab reports that Weixin and WeChat are operated by separate subsidiaries: WeChat International Pte. Ltd. in Singapore, and Shenzhen Tencent Computer Systems Company Limited for Weixin. Its analysis adds that, from its observation, both services also mostly use the same set of servers.
Why it is called a super app
The WeChat website describes the app as one that provides chats, calls and more. The privacy policy and Tencent’s company page name the other building blocks that sit around messaging:
- Official Accounts and Mini Programs, which the privacy policy says are developed, operated and owned by third parties unrelated to WeChat unless the account or program states otherwise.
- Weixin Pay or WeChat Pay, the payment feature named in the policy.
- Advanced Search, Channels and Top Stories, features that the policy lists as operated by Weixin.
The policy also states that it does not apply to personal information collected by third-party services accessed through the platform, and it names Official Accounts, Mini Programs, Weixin Login and Weixin Pay or WeChat Pay in that list, so a Mini Program carries its own privacy terms.
Scale of the user base
In its 2025 annual results, Tencent reported combined monthly active users of Weixin and WeChat of 1,418 million as at 31 December 2025, compared with 1,385 million a year earlier, a rise of 2%. The WeChat website uses a rounder claim, saying the app connects with over 1 billion users.
The same results note that Mini Programs, Mini Shops and Mini Games now figure in how Tencent sells advertising. It says pricing benefitted from an increasing proportion of closed-loop ads, where the user clicks through to native transactional experiences such as Mini Programs, Mini Shops or Mini Games. That shows how messaging, commerce and advertising are connected inside one app.
Checking which account type applies
The WeChat privacy policy explains how a user can tell which service an account belongs to. Clicking “Me”, then “Settings”, then “About”, and then the link to the “Terms of Service” shows the relevant document. If the WeChat Terms of Service appear, the account belongs to a WeChat user; if the Agreement on Software License and Service of Tencent Weixin appears, it belongs to a Weixin user. The policy adds that the latest version of the app also lists the service name in a header, which gives a second way to check.
This matters because the registration number, not the user’s current location, is what the policy uses to define the two groups. A traveller with a mobile number from outside mainland China is described as a WeChat user, and the policy’s jurisdiction-specific addenda are keyed to the country of the currently registered mobile number.
Weixin and WeChat accounts compared
| Point | Weixin user | WeChat user |
|---|---|---|
| Registered with | A +86 mainland mobile number, or a contract with Shenzhen Tencent Computer Systems Company Limited | A mobile number with an international dialing code other than +86 |
| Governing terms | Weixin Agreement on Software License and Service of Tencent Weixin, and Weixin Privacy Protection Guidelines | WeChat Terms of Service and WeChat Privacy Policy |
| Operating company, per Citizen Lab | Shenzhen Tencent Computer Systems Company Limited | WeChat International Pte. Ltd. in Singapore |
The table follows the definitions in the WeChat privacy policy and the operator details in the Citizen Lab analysis.
Privacy and cross-account use
The WeChat privacy policy describes this directly: when a WeChat user interacts with a Weixin user or uses a feature operated by Weixin, the company will share information with Weixin to the extent necessary to facilitate the interaction, and those interactions are also subject to the Weixin Privacy Protection Guidelines.
For readers outside China, this is the practical point of the two-name arrangement. The terms that apply depend on the account type and on which feature is used, so the privacy policy and the Weixin terms it references are the documents to read, not a general description of the app.
Where WeChat meets phones and payments
WeChat is an app rather than part of a phone’s operating system, but the software a phone ships with differs by market, a subject covered in the page on global vs china rom. Visitors to China who want to pay with the app’s wallet feature can read a separate explainer on alipay for foreigners.
Frequently asked questions
Are Weixin and WeChat different apps?
Show answer
Tencent presents them as two services within the same app. Which one an account uses depends on how the account was registered, as set out in the WeChat privacy policy.
Who owns WeChat?
Show answer
Tencent, which says it was founded in Shenzhen, China, in 1998, operates the Weixin ecosystem through its Weixin Group.
How many people use it?
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Tencent reported 1,418 million combined monthly active users of Weixin and WeChat as at 31 December 2025.
What is a Mini Program?
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It is one of the open-platform services that Tencent lists for the Weixin ecosystem, alongside Official Accounts and Weixin Pay. The WeChat privacy policy treats Mini Programs as third-party services with their own privacy terms.
