How WeChat Kidnapped China

Part of a series on China.

WeChat, the most-used social media in China, has been on a quest to take over the entire Chinese cyberspace. Those living outside the country have little idea of the extent to which WeChat influences day-to-day lives in China. It is quickly becoming a monopoly on almost everything related to the internet, from messaging, payment, and identity confirmation.

Here are some daily activities WeChat controls:

You wake up on a Saturday morning and find that there’s no milk left. You jog down to the corner store and pick up a gallon, paying by scanning the WeChat Pay QR code. Coming back to your building, you scan the QR code on the gate and show the guard your own code, which says you haven’t been to a COVID-19 hot zone recently. You make some breakfast and turn on the TV. It’s a streaming service, not cable, so you log in through your WeChat. You get an email saying employees at your company must fill out a questionnaire, and you do so through a WeChat Mini Program. You head to the bank to pick up your new debit card; to do so, you confirm your identity through facial recognition and bind the card to WeChat so you can use it for purchases.

Now, there really is an app for everything.

These are just some examples of things we are forced to do through WeChat. Similarly, if you need to register for a physical at your local clinic, submit an application to a government agency, or pay for your health insurance, chances are you are going to do it through WeChat as well. This is an unprecedented level of digital monopoly over an unprecedented number of people. There are times when going out without my smartphone is virtually impossible.

The Pros

There are pros and cons with everything, of course. The pros are that everything has been condensed into one platform. You can do everything with that little green app. We used to say “there’s an app for everything.” Now, there really is an app for everything. There’s no longer a need to download separate apps for official services; even some games have Mini Programs, which run without a download. There’s no more badly designed mobile websites. WeChat pages are formatted nicely with all the bells and whistles: app-like buttons, auto-zoom, etc.

The Cons

Everything has been condensed into one platform. Since WeChat is phone number verified, and Chinese phone numbers are real-name verified, someone somewhere know exactly who you are and what you are doing at all times. The amount of personal data available to whoever with backdoor access (*cough* the CCP *cough*) is extremely concerning. There used to be some privacy if you knew how to navigate your way around the internet. Now there’s absolutely none. Need to contact a company or institution? No one emails or calls them anymore. WeChat knows who you talk to, when you talked to them, and what you said, word-for-word. The Chinese equivalent of the NSA has never had an easier job.

The Takeaway

I think it’s important for people everywhere to realize how precious their internet freedom is. Over the years, sites like Facebook, etc. have been accused of or caught leaking their users’ data. The thing is, people who are trying to keep tabs on us are getting smarter. We are like frogs being cooked in warm water — it’s fine until it’s suddenly not fine, but it’s already too late.

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