Tencent developed the WeChat messaging and social platform.
Tencent launched WeChat in January 2011 under the Chinese name Weixin. The mobile service began as a messaging application but expanded to include voice and video calls, social feeds, payments, mini-programs, and other services.
WeChat became one of Tencent’s most important products and a major part of everyday digital life in China. Its international version uses the name WeChat, while the domestic Chinese service is commonly called Weixin. The platform’s broad features make it more than a conventional text-messaging application.
A frequent mix-up is attributing WeChat to Alibaba or Baidu, two other major Chinese technology companies. Tencent also operates QQ, an older messaging service, but QQ and WeChat are separate products with different histories and audiences.