Because people spend so many hours on WeChat every day, they often get the majority of their information from articles published in the app. Yiqin Fu, who studies political science at Stanford, tells me WeChat’s quest for a monopoly on content consumption has even shaped how knowledge creation in China works. Fixing these connections is arguably the hardest part. “When I was adding contacts back, I was questioned if I was a scammer,” one banned user told me. But even then, you’re stuck rebuilding the social network you may have created over a decade on the app. As I wrote, it’s not easy to get your WeChat account back it’s actually easier to regain access to these other services individually. So losing a WeChat account means losing all of the above. Sounds quite convenient, no? But it means you are never leaving the app, period. It’s a whole operating system within an app. In 2017, WeChat even launched in-app “mini programs,” which basically allow you to access non-Tencent services-like Airbnb, Weibo, and office tools-without ever leaving the platform. While it started out dominating one-on-one messaging and group chats, over time WeChat incorporated all the services you would want from the internet: digital payment, shopping, streaming, networking, ride-hailing … you name it, it’s probably there. No matter whether you are talking to a family member, a schoolmate, or a colleague, WeChat is the only way to go. And email is basically nonexistent among the general population. iMessages reach a small crowd, because only about 20% of smartphones in China are iPhones (compared with over 50% in the US). SMS messages are inundated with spam and service notifications. Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal are all blocked. One reason is that there simply aren’t many alternatives.
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