WeChat, WeChat App, WeChat Messenger

Messaging apps have become a phenomenon, reaching all corners of the globe and largely replacing text messaging and calling provided by carriers. We’ve been covering the phenomenon here on TruTower since the beginning of the website and have watched as many applications have leaped in user count and features.

According to the newest data from Tencent, WeChat / Weixin‘s parent company, WeChat now has 468.1 million monthly active users (MAUs) in Q3 2014 worldwide, up from 438 million MAUs in Q2. This makes it once again the closest competitor to Facebook Messenger, which has 500 million users, and WhatsApp Messenger with 600 million users.

WeChat is the closest competitor to Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp

Tencent did not indicate how many of WeChat’s active users are outside China. Tencent has been attempting to grow WeChat outside the country but has seen limited success.

Gaming revenues from WeChat and QQ reached RMB 2.6 billion ($423 million USD), but Tencent did not specify how much of it came from Wechat’s gaming platform.

WeChat is available for most major mobile platforms.

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By Josh Robert Nay

Josh Robert Nay is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TruTower. He has worked in the telecommunications industry since 2003 and specializes in GSM based technology. He also uses (too many) VoIP apps and is a long-time user of BlackBerry, Android, and Windows Phone. He adores anything having to do with space exploration and writing. In addition to the links below, he can be found on LinkedIn and can also be found on his website at http://www.joshrobertnay.com.