Chinese tech unicorn ByteDance launches new social app to rival WeChat
- New video-based social messaging app Duoshan lets users send text messages and stickers, as well as share images and videos
ByteDance, the world’s most valuable start-up, has introduced a new video-based social messaging service, “Duoshan”, that aims to become as popular an everyday mobile app in China as Tencent Holdings’ WeChat.
Duoshan, which translates to “many flashes”, lets users send text messages and stickers, as well as share images and videos accessible for up to 72 hours, to each other – features that are similar to those of US multimedia messaging app Snapchat and social network Instagram.
Senior executives at ByteDance, however, played down any direct competition with WeChat at the launch of Duoshan in Beijing on Tuesday.
“WeChat doesn’t have to see us as a direct rival because we are doing different things,” said Chen Lin, chief executive of ByteDance news aggregation unit Jinri Toutiao, at the Duoshan press conference.
“WeChat builds the infrastructure for social networking.” he said. “We are only touching intimate communications, letting people with intimate relationships communicate with each other without any pressure.”