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Tencent super app WeChat beefs up short video-sharing, live-streaming features as it takes on TikTok sister app Douyin
- Version 8.0.3 of WeChat has enhanced its short video-sharing and live-streaming functions
- WeChat, which had 1.2 billion monthly active users in the December quarter, doubled the video length for its Instagram-style WeChat Moment service
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Tencent Holdings’ super app WeChat has reinforced its short video-sharing and live-streaming functions, according to the latest update of the multipurpose social media platform, amid increased competition from Douyin, the Chinese version of ByteDance-owned TikTok.
WeChat, which had 1.2 billion monthly active users (MAUs) in the December quarter, doubled the video length for its Instagram-style WeChat Moment service to 30 seconds, from the previous 15 seconds, under its new version 8.0.3. This change would enable all content creators on the platform to increase exposure to their audience.
While the default length of short videos on Douyin is 15 seconds, the service grants its major content creators to post longer clips. Douyin has more than 550 million MAUs.
Live-streaming videos on WeChat can now be “recommended” to users, compared to an automatic notice of “your friend is also watching”. This means Tencent will rely on algorithms to identify and push recommended clips to users, just like what Douyin and Kuaishou Technology have been doing.
The changes are a testament to Tencent’s determination to take on Douyin, which recently launched its own mobile payment service to compete against WeChat Pay, in China’s fast-growing short video-sharing market segment.
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