From sharing payments with friends, hailing a taxi or filing for divorce, the platform centralizes almost all daily activities, making it the most enthusiastic data collection tool.

But WeChat's first major revolution beyond social media came four years after its launch, when it combined online shopping and payment functionality that had until then only been available using separate e-commerce and mobile banking apps. WeChat Pay together with Alipay (operated by Ant Group, a subsidiary of Alibaba) is the Asian giant's largest mobile payment service. The WeChat virtual wallet can be linked to a credit and debit card and, without fees, allows you to send money to friends in a much easier and more intuitive way than Bizum or PayPal. Among the most commonly used options are a "shared account" that allows expenses to be passed on to a group (and choose which person to pay) or giving money in hongbao or "red envelopes", which was very popular at the time. New Year celebrations. New mole or weddings.