WeChat reviews
What users love and hate, from real reviews
A Chinese all-in-one super app (chat, calls, payments, mini-programs) that's indispensable for anyone connected to China — yet signing up and logging in as a foreigner turns into a multi-day ordeal.
What users love
The indispensable all-in-one super app for dealing with China
Chat, voice and video calls, WeChat Pay, Moments and mini-programs — one app replacing a dozen others. For business and connecting with China, users call it a non-negotiable must-have.
True all-in-one app. Chat, payment, mini programs, QR scan - everything’s complete. Everyone in China uses this.
Essential for talking to suppliers and friends in China. Moments, mini programs, and payments all in one app. Voice message interface is still the best.
The single biggest praise for WeChat is that it eliminates the need to switch between dozens of different apps.
Built-in translation bridges the language barrier
Users single out the built-in message and camera translation as accurate and genuinely helpful for talking with Chinese friends and travelling in China.
The built-in translation tool is incredibly useful, and sharing large files or photos is very fast and smooth.
the translation feature was much better than my built in camera one, highly recommend
The voice and video calls are clear, and the built-in translation feature for messages is incredibly helpful and accurate.
Clear calls and smooth media sharing
Those who get past sign-up praise the crisp voice and video calls, fast photo and video sharing, and smooth group chats even on Android.
Messaging is fast and reliable, voice and video calls are crystal clear, and the sticker collection is so much fun.
Phone quality also very good. A bit of a pain to set up but worth it.
The messaging feature works smoothly, and sending photos, videos, and voice notes is very easy.
What users hate
Sign-up forces another 6-month user to scan a QR code for you
To finish signing up you need a friend who's been on WeChat for 6 months to scan a QR code on your screen. If you know nobody on the app, registration is literally impossible.
when i register a new account need a qr code for friends to scan for me to finish register my account, i don't have any friend in wechat
Registration is a nightmare, requires another user to scan a QR code that pops up in YOUR phone!!
I need to find another person with WeChat to complete the registration. Ridiculous
The SMS / voice verification code never arrives
People with good signal and balance wait hours for an SMS or call code that never comes, while the app blames an "unstable network" — even though SMS from everyone else arrives fine.
they said that they sent me a verification via SMS but there's nothing. they just waste your time
I have tried so many times to register. But never received the verification call or sms.
verify via mobile number and the reason was unstable network and to choose more stable network
Accounts get locked without warning and are near-impossible to recover
The app abruptly blocks accounts for "suspicious activity" or "spam" — even for people who added a couple of acquaintances. Unlocking drags on for days or weeks, and support often goes silent.
the stupidest app, blocked my account immediately after signing up and there is no way to restore
Blocks your account for "suspicious activity" and is almost impossible to verify your account again.
only add 2-3 people and all pf them are people I know. and they said I harrash / spam add other users
Switching phones means losing your account and all contacts
Moving to a new phone requires a QR code the old phone must scan — but the old phone logs itself out in the process. People permanently lose the contacts they made in China.
old phone broke. new phone needs me to scan a qr code that I cannot get
it shows the QR code for the new phone to scan from wechat. however when tried to login from new phone. the old phone wrchat auto logout. how to acan the QR code
My mother just lost the contacts of her friends she made when visiting China. Just because she changed her phone and wasn't able to login ever again to recover.
The app downloads an outdated version, then says it's outdated
Right after installing from the store, the app complains the version is outdated and pushes you to a sketchy website for an apk that won't install. On Android 14 it downloads version 7.0.
I got a message in Chinese saying the version is outdated and needs updating, even though I downloaded it from the store just a few minutes ago
it's an outdated version...I have android 14,but when I download it comes a 7.0 version
trying to sing up just says app is out dated such a struggle
Devours storage and battery even when idle
The app balloons to gigabytes right after registration, keeps all media in internal storage with no fine-grained control, and drains the battery even when you never open it.
700MB after installation, 2GB after registration
consuma tantissima batteria anche se non la apri mai, richiede tantissimi permessi
This app eats up device storage space. Any shared pictures/videos/chat history are all stored on device.
Feels like it only works for Chinese phone numbers
Users in the US, UK, Russia and elsewhere struggle for hours and days, concluding the app effectively isn't meant for anyone outside China.
Perhaps designed to only be useable in China by Chinese numbers on Chinese service providers?
wasted 3 hours trying to get it to work but apparently doesn't work in the US
does not work at Russian territory, timeless updates inside app. Alipay is better option.
Too many verification layers — face, ID, bank card
On top of SMS, the app demands a selfie, passport or ID photo, and a bank card — yet the photo upload fails anyway. Many feel it's just harvesting personal data.
what do you mean by my account violations and ask me to provide my face and id card just to steal the information?
Too many verification layers, involving credit card verification. App continues to fail in sensing the SMS verification code.
Asked me to verify then it shows failed to upload photo when i upload my id
Password recovery is an interrogation you can't pass
Resetting a password means answering a dozen questions near-perfectly; after a few misses you're locked out for days, sometimes forced to wait 7 days before trying again.
i want to reset my password bc i dont remember it. i answer their 14 questions, most of the answers is right and i remember them but after many times i tried it, still got rejected.
it said operation failed and i must wait 7 days to try again
It system would say I log in too many times and I should wait. And I do wait, for a WEEK.
Missing basic messenger features like read receipts and online status
Even happy users note WeChat lags behind: no delivered/read receipts, no online status, no message editing — features WhatsApp and Viber already have.
can add more features to the App like knowing if someone read the message probably with 2 marks like WhatsApp, features like editing messages
missing many useful functions such as 'seen message' and many more, it's miles behind from Viber and Whatsapp
It doesn't show online status or reliable message delivery information.
Ads inside the settings menu that can't be hidden
A "Stores and Cards" entry and ads are baked into the "Me" menu with no way to hide them, sharing one red dot with real settings notices to lure you into tapping.
This must be the first app in the world that puts advertisements in the setting menu, and luring users to check it by sharing the same red dot between advertisement and important setting ntice
Unable to hide "Stores and Cards" in "me" menu.
广告太多, 朋友圈里，公众号里、订阅号里、评论区里，钱包里，到处都是广告。