China’s Tencent rebrands WeChat work app ahead of US ban
- Newly named WeCom app does not fall under the scope of a ban on WeChat-related transactions in the US, sources say
- WeChat is widely used by Chinese expats and others in the US to communicate with friends and associates at home.
Tencent registered the WeCom trademark on August 19, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Two Tencent sources said WeCom did not fall under the scope of a ban on WeChat-related transactions in the US from Sunday, one of a series of US measures cracking down on Chinese tech firms and apps that Washington says are threats to national security.
Tencent declined to comment.
After downloading WeCom, users can link their WeChat account to it and add their WeChat contacts, a Reuters test showed. WeCom users can then message, create chat groups, and even receive virtual money from WeChat friends without their WeChat contacts having to download WeCom.
There was no indication that Tencent had actively promoted WeCom in the United States. There has also been no surge in downloads of WeCom in recent weeks, according to Sensor Tower.
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is set to release regulations by Sunday clarifying which WeChat transactions will be prohibited under President Donald Trump’s executive order.
On Thursday, the US justice department said Ross did not plan to target persons or groups who only downloaded or used WeChat to convey personal or business information.
Tencent staff in the United States have historically used WeChat Work to communicate with the company’s headquarters in Shenzhen. Tencent has at least 250 US-based employees.
The WeCom app has been gaining popularity in China, where downloads in the first part of September rose 74 per cent from about 690,000 during the first 16 days of August. Downloads were 158 per cent higher than the same period a year ago.
But the app has gained little traction in the United States. New US installs so far in September stand at about 3,000, unchanged from the same period in August and up from 1,000 during the first part of September last year.
She was unaware that WeCom was a potential workaround.
“I haven’t connected my WeCom to my WeChat yet as I was hoping to keep my work life and private life separate.”
