What is WeChat and how does it works – Among the many existing messaging services, surely you have heard of WeChat, a Chinese platform born in 2011 with over 1 billion active users, now spread all over the world. In this article we will see in detail, what WeChat is, how it works and how to use it, showing all the features that make this app one of the most used, especially in the Far East.
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What is WeChat?
Initially born as an instant messaging application (to be understood as Whatsapp and Telegram ) it can be used not only on your smartphone but also on your computer via its client or from a browser, via its website.
Wechat in China is known as 微 信, which is pronounced Wēixìn, which literally means “micromessages”. This platform was developed by Tencent company.
Its diffusion, especially in eastern countries, has received a huge boost, especially following the blocking by the Chinese government of Whatsapp and other social media.
WeChat Download Android and iOS app
Now let’s see where to download the application, which we remind you is free. For Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, we can download the application from the links below:
DOWNLOAD | WeChat (Android)
DOWNLOAD | WeChat (iOS)
How to use WeChat Web it
For computer owners, we can use the dedicated web page, through any browser, reachable at this web address:
LINK | WeChat Web
You simply have to open the page, then open the app on your device and from the ” Options ” menu and use the ” WeChat for Web ” item to open the rear camera and photograph the QR code on the Web page;
How to install Wechat on PC
As an alternative to the web version, on your computer you can download and use the official software downloadable from the following links:
DOWNLOAD | WeChat (Windows)
DOWNLOAD | WeChat (Mac)
Once the software is downloaded, open the installation package and follow the wizard to complete everything. All you have to do now is start the WeChat client and access your profile by scanning the QR code that appears on your screen, using the WeChat function on your smartphone.
How WeChat works
Over the years, WeChat has become something much more complete than a simple messaging app, evolving into a real platform, with many functions and features, among which the possibility of:
- make voice and video calls;
- exchange photos and share them, as a kind of social network;
- send audio messages and text messages;
- meet new people nearby or in your city, via the Shake function (in Tinder and Chatroulette style);
- As a payment system (Wechat Pay)
- allows you to create live voice chats, where only voice notes can be exchanged;
- Buy plane and train tickets ;
- Call a Taxi (similar to Uber);
- Order food (such as Just Eat);
- Pay a bill ;
- Buy a cinema ticket;
- Top up your mobile phone credit;
- Make a doctor’s appointment ;
- Group chat;
- Editing of the shots taken.
This platform thanks to its enormous amount of functionality has now become indispensable in China, practically replacing in eastern countries: Facebook, Amazon, Uber, Just Eat, Skype, Paypal, and Whatsapp.
How to use WeChat
To use this platform, we must first sign up and create an account. Registration can be done via Facebook or mobile number.
You can choose the method you prefer. At the end of the procedure, once the verification code has been passed, the application will ask us for permission to import the phone book on our smartphone, this is to inform us if, among our contacts, there is already someone who uses the application.
As anticipated before, WeChat can be used, as well on smartphones and tablets, also on PCs (Windows and Mac) through a web page/interface or through a program that you can install for free, all you have to do is use the same phone number that you have associated in the WeChat app for Android and iOS (the control code will be sent to you via SMS).
How to add contacts in WeChat
As explained above, the simplest method to add contacts in WeChat is to import the phone book on your smartphone, so that all the friends who already use the app are automatically shown to you.
Another method, however manual, is to click on the ” + ” button at the top right and select the item ” Add contacts “, or always by clicking on ” Add contacts ” you can type the ID in the search field WeChat of the person we want to add (which does not match their name or email address). We can, always from the same field, search among the official accounts of this platform.
One last way to add contacts is by scanning the QR Code associated with each user. For example, your QR Code can be found in the ” Me ” tab, by clicking on the QR code thumbnail, or find people nearby, by going to the ” Discover ” tab using the ” Nearby people ” function.
To prevent it from being found through this function, click on the ” three dots ” at the top right and click on the item ” Delete location “.