You may not have heard of WeChat, but the latest data shows that WeChat is the app with the highest number of monthly active users in China: the app currently It has over a billion monthly active usersThis highlights the size of the platform.

WeChat started its journey as a messaging app and has since It contains many different functions.is evolving into what we know as super appAlthough it still maintains its messaging functions, WeChat today offers much more possibilities and is China’s most important application.

It is possible to use WeChat to shop, send money and even file for divorce

The app was launched in early 2011 and is owned by the country’s tech giant Tencent. Originally called WeixinHowever, its creators decided to change the name in an effort to spread the app’s popularity to the rest of the world.

WeChat’s capabilities mean that we can use the app for almost anything. It doesn’t matter if we want to stay in touch with our friends, shop at the supermarket, send money to a family member, pay in stores, make a doctor’s appointment, buy a plane ticket or file for divorce: we can do it all from WeChat.

Behind WeChat’s potential lies ‘mini-programs’, a type of application that the platform makes available to companies: Each company can create its own ‘mini-program’ and start offering your services through the app.

The ‘mini-programs’ have enabled WeChat users to spend the day on the app, which is particularly interesting for Tencent. In turn, the companies are benefiting from the app’s enormous popularity and users don’t need to use an app for everything: just using WeChat is enough.

WeChat has messaging functions and ‘mini-programs’, as well as social networking functions (WeChat Moments), a workplace version of the app (Enterprise WeChat) and the aforementioned mobile payment and transfer service. WeChat Pay is one of the most popular payment platforms in the country and is accepted almost everywhere, from paying for taxis to shopping at the supermarket and even in hospitals.

Considering the possibilities offered by WeChat, fits the platform description perfectly super app: applications that give us access to many different unrelated services.

Logically, super apps It is particularly appealing to companies, and interest in such applications is also increasing in the rest of the world. In fact, platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok or WhatsApp They are starting to test different functions that have nothing to do with their original purpose: we have already mentioned the case of WhatsApp, which allows you to buy metro tickets in India and even make purchases.

Another example is the case of X (formerly known as Twitter). Elon Musk has expressed more than once his interest in starting to offer more functions on X, with the aim of turning the platform into a kind of entertainment tool. super app. In fact, one of the functions they are working on could replace our bank.

Cover image | Adem AY (Unsplash)

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