{"id":50750,"date":"2013-09-26T20:45:02","date_gmt":"2013-09-26T18:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onsoftware.en.softonic.com\/?p=50750"},"modified":"2025-07-02T01:08:35","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T08:08:35","slug":"wechat-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wechat-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work\/","title":{"rendered":"WeChat: What is it and how does it work?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/wechat.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WeChat <\/a>is a new and completely free messaging app currently trumping well known competitors <a href=\"http:\/\/whatsapp-android.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WhatsApp<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/viber-mobile.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Viber<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/line.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LINE<\/a> with some of its awesome and unique features. We give you a breakdown of what the messaging app can do so that you can decide for yourself if you want to make the switch.<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>What is WeChat?<\/h2>\n<p>WeChat is an<em> instant messaging app<\/em> for <a href=\"http:\/\/wechat.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Android<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/wechat.en.softonic.com\/iphone\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">iPhone<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/wechat.en.softonic.com\/windows-phone-7\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Windows Phone<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/wechat.en.softonic.com\/blackberry\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BlackBerry<\/a>, Symbian and Java. Perhaps the reason behind it&#8217;s recent success is the company&#8217;s <strong>huge advertising campaign featuring superstar Leo Messi<\/strong>, but this app has its own merits without needing the help of the famous footballer. Aside from all the functions we&#8217;re used to, like creating group chats, sending photos, music files, and voice notes, WeChat introduces some <strong>functions never before seen<\/strong> in similar messaging apps.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Enrich your chats with colored stickers<\/h3>\n<p>WeChat integrates two of the best parts of WhatsApp and LINE: when you&#8217;re chatting, you can <strong> insert both emoticons and stickers<\/strong>, all for free!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-50779\" title=\"We Chat\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/WeChat3-568x223.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"568\" height=\"223\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/WeChat3-568x223.jpg 568w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/WeChat3-256x100.jpg 256w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/WeChat3.jpg 862w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 568px) 100vw, 568px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>2. Create a live chat<\/h3>\n<p>All it takes is a few taps to start a group conversation and live voice chat. It&#8217;s a type of <strong>multi-user walkie-talkie<\/strong> which makes conversations more immediate and fun, although only one person can speak at a time when the indicator light is green.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-33738\" title=\"WeChat Live Chat\" src=\"\" alt=\"\" width=\"568\" height=\"469\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>3. Make a video call<\/h3>\n<p>With video call mode, you can <strong>talk face-to-face with your friends<\/strong>. During the call, you can choose to toggle between video and audio. This feature makes WeChat a potential competitor for <a href=\"http:\/\/skype-1.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Skype<\/a>, which has been the undisputed king of VoIP calls up until now.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-33744\" title=\"Chiamate vocali WeChat come funziona\" src=\"\" alt=\"\" width=\"568\" height=\"469\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>4. Meet new people online<\/h3>\n<p>With the <strong>&#8216;Shake&#8217; feature<\/strong>, you literally shake your device and find other people around you doing the same thing. In the results list, you can then <strong>select a contact that intrigues you<\/strong> and send a chat message to get to know them, a feature that reminds us a lot of <a href=\"http:\/\/chatroulette.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chatroulette<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-33746\" title=\"WeChat conosci nuova gente\" src=\"\" alt=\"\" width=\"568\" height=\"469\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>5. Chat using your computer<\/h3>\n<p>Although there are several tricks to using WhatsApp on your PC, an official PC version was <a href=\"http:\/\/news.en.softonic.com\/whatsapp-for-pc-a-popular-facebook-scam-in-spain\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">never actually released<\/a>. Too bad for WhatsApp, because WeChat hasn&#8217;t let this opportunity slip through their fingers, having implemented a version for <strong>chatting directly in your browser<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-50778\" title=\"Wechat1\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/Wechat1-568x469.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"568\" height=\"469\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/Wechat1-568x469.jpg 568w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/Wechat1-256x211.jpg 256w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/Wechat1.jpg 824w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 568px) 100vw, 568px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>6. Share &#8216;Moments&#8217; with Facebook<\/h3>\n<p>The &#8216;Moments&#8217; function in WeChat is similar to <a href=\"http:\/\/facebook.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Facebook<\/a> posts but more <strong>focused on photos<\/strong>. In fact, sharing &#8216;Moments&#8217; on Facebook is easy thanks to <strong>Facebook integration<\/strong>. All you have to do is snap a photo, add a comment (if you want), and hit send. Just make sure you <strong>connect WeChat with your Facebook account<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-50795\" title=\"WeChatFacebook\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/WeChatFacebook.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"290\" height=\"409\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/WeChatFacebook.png 290w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/WeChatFacebook-181x256.png 181w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 290px) 100vw, 290px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>7. Built-in photo editing<\/h3>\n<p>Do you want to edit your photos to be published on social networks? Or maybe you want to<strong> add a filter to your profile picture<\/strong> on WeChat? This is all possible in WeChat without using external applications! The app has integrated photo editing, allowing you to edit photos with <strong>a whole host of different filters<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-33777\" title=\"WeChat editing fotografico\" src=\"\" alt=\"\" width=\"568\" height=\"469\" \/><\/p>\n<p>What else does WeChat have to offer? There&#8217;s a <strong>blacklist<\/strong> to prevent you being contact by unwanted users, as well as the option to <strong>send messages to multiple contacts<\/strong> at once.<\/p>\n<p>There are clearly a ton of WeChat features available that the competitors haven&#8217;t been able to tap into yet, so try it out for yourself and see if it&#8217;s worth all the fuss!<\/p>\n<h3>Will you switch to WeChat? Let us know in the comments below.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WeChat is a new and completely free messaging app currently trumping well known competitors WhatsApp, Viber and LINE with some of its awesome and unique features. We give you a breakdown of what the messaging app can do so that you can decide for yourself if you want to make the switch. What is WeChat? &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wechat-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;WeChat: What is it and how does it work?&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2040,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":1},"categories":[2441],"tags":[2803],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-50750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-to","tag-app-subdomain-redirectionwechat"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2040"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50750"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":332125,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50750\/revisions\/332125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50750"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=50750"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=50750"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=50750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}