{"id":1188,"date":"2018-03-01T09:44:16","date_gmt":"2018-03-01T01:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/2018\/03\/01\/tencent-denies-allegations-storing-wechat-conversations\/"},"modified":"2024-12-30T14:14:30","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T06:14:30","slug":"tencent-denies-allegations-storing-wechat-conversations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/tencent-denies-allegations-storing-wechat-conversations\/","title":{"rendered":"Tencent Denies Allegations Storing WeChat Conversations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tencent Holdings, whose WeChat messaging app has more than 1 billion users worldwide, said it does not store user chat histories after Chinese automotive industry tycoon Li Shufu slammed the company for invading user privacy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Tencent Holdings, whose WeChat messaging app has more than 1 billion users worldwide, said it does not store user chat histories after Chinese automotive industry<\/a> tycoon Li Shufu slammed the company for invading user privacy.<\/p>\n

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\"\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20180104105824.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Internet giant Tencent Holdings has denied that its popular WeChat app stores the conversation history of its users. Photo credit: Shutterstock<\/p>\n

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WeChat said in a post on its official account on Tuesday that the contents of WeChat conversations are stored only on the user\u2019s mobile phone, computer, or other terminal devices. The social<\/a> media app also does not use any of the content for Big data analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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As WeChat neither stores nor analyses users\u2019 chat content, it is purely a misconception to say that \u201cwe are watching your WeChat every day\u201d, according to the\u00a0statement. \u201cPlease rest assured that privacy has always been one of Wechat\u2019s most important principles. We have neither the authority nor reason to look at your WeChat.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Tencent\u2019s WeChat has gained prominence in everyday usage in China and extended its use from a communication<\/a> tool and mobile payment channel to a digital alternative<\/a> to the national identification card. A Beijing court has also recently started accepting filings by people using the platform.<\/p>\n

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\"\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20180104105829.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Photo credit: bing.com<\/p>\n

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WeChat, officially launched in 2011 and known as Weixin in mainland China, has evolved into the country\u2019s largest social network with 980 million monthly active users in the quarter ended September 30, according to Shenzhen<\/a>-basedTencent.\u00a0The statement came after Li Shufu, chairman of Chinese carmaker Geely, criticised Tencent for invading the users\u2019 privacy on WeChat. Tencent chairman Pony Ma Huateng \u201cis watching us through WeChat every day because he can see whatever he wants\u201d, said Li during a public event on January 1, according to Sina.com.<\/p>\n

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Li Yi, a researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences internet research centre, said it was amusing to learn that while Chinese telecommunications<\/a> operators all store users\u2019 messages for a long time, Tencent, whose users base is even larger and has been boosting its cloud capacity, said it never stores any users\u2019 chat.<\/p>\n

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Tencent did not immediately respond to an email request for further comment on the company\u2019s policy on providing information to the police or other authorities.<\/p>\n

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This is not the first time Tencent has had to address criticism of accessing WeChat users\u2019 chat logs.<\/p>\n

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Last year, Tencent got into a dispute with telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies over the right to collect user data from WeChat installed on Huawei\u2019s smartphones. That prompted the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to tell both companies to resolve their dispute.<\/p>\n

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China is not alone in the ongoing debate over privacy. In the United States, Facebook, operator of the world\u2019s largest social network, has been frequently criticised for its approach to user data from both consumers and regulators. In 2011, the US Federal Trade Commission argued Facebook deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on the site private while \u201crepeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public\u201d. \u00a0Last month, France\u2019s privacy watchdog ordered Facebook to stop collecting data from WhatsApp, the messaging platform it acquired in 2014. In response, the company repeatedly updated its privacy policy and settings in a bid to make it clearer for users.<\/p>\n

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\"\"\"\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20180104105833.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Photo credit: bing.com<\/p>\n

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Apple was thrust into the privacy spotlight after the FBI\u2019s attempt to force the company to unlock an iPhone used by a terrorist during the San Bernardino attack in 2015, something Apple refused to do.<\/p>\n

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Critics have argued that by not sending personal data to the cloud, Apple may be limiting its artificial intelligence assistant Siri\u2019s development by starving it of the information it needs to become more personalised, while Chinese companies are pouring resources into improving that capability.<\/p>\n

Source: SCMP<\/p>\n

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