So what is it? WeChat, called Weixin in China, functions like Facebook (FB), LinkedIn, Uber, Instagram and several other apps all at once. For many Chinese people, WeChat is an indispensable app for staying in touch across the world.
Some of that success has been aided by the government. China blocked many American apps including Facebook, Google and Twitter (TWTR), so state-sponsored apps have become the norm.
WeChat is owned by Tencent (TCEHY), China's biggest tech company and the world's largest gaming company. In March, Tencent reported that WeChat has nearly 1.2 billion monthly active users. The company does not disclose user numbers by country, but industry analysts say the vast majority of them are in China.
