Internet users in China are showing more interest in privacy -- but is WeChat too big to escape from?

Data concerns prompt some users to try to quit China’s most pervasive app

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Internet users in China are showing more interest in privacy -- but is WeChat too big to escape from?

Published: 7:30pm, 23 Jul 2018Updated: 8:33am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

A maps app that asked to read your messages. A flight booking app that showed details of fellow passengers. Food delivery apps that let drivers see customers’ actual phone numbers... and possibly sell them.

If it’s true, like some say, that people in China are happy to trade privacy for convenience, none of this would matter. But it turns out that even among a population that’s used to being tracked and censored, some have found they might not want their data shared -- especially without proper consent.

Take WeChat as an example. Worries over how far WeChat will go to protect personal privacy is driving a small group of people to use the app less -- or even delete it altogether.

WeChat, the app that does everything

Several users in China, all with overseas experience, told the South China Morning Post that they are concerned about the lack of data protection in the app. One says he now only communicates through old school texting or phone calls. Another, who now lives in Japan, says he’s switched to iMessage and Telegram.

Unlike apps such as iMessage or WhatsApp, WeChat doesn’t use end-to-end encryption. That means anyone with access to WeChat’s servers can snoop on private messages before they’re deleted.

WeChat stresses that it wipes a message from company servers once it has reached all the recipients. It also insists that chat logs are only saved on a user’s device. Still, the company says in its privacy policy it will hand over user data to authorities when compelled to do so.

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That’s exactly what worries these WeChat boycotters, who represent a growing voice in China calling for more data protection. But without any change from Tencent, it’s proven difficult for individuals taking matters into their own hands.