With 190 million monthly active users, WeChat looks set to pass WhatsApp

Doubting the growing global popularity of mobile messaging app WeChat? There are some new figures to change your mind. Speaking on the final day of the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing, Tencent’s deputy general manager Hou Xiaonan has revealed that the company’s social messaging app now has 190-million monthly active users. That’s from a total registered user-base of over 300-million – indeed, it’s anticipated to exceed 400-million later this month.

With 190-million monthly active users on WeChat, that means the fast-growing app is poised to pass WhatsApp, whose CEO Jan Koum said in April that the multi-platform chat app now has just north of 200-million monthly active users. WeChat (known as Weixin in China) has witnessed stellar growth since it launched globally in April 2012, speeding up to gain 100-million registered users in three months at the end of last year.

Despite the rapid growth in WeChat’s user numbers, WhatsApp still enjoys far more international success. Tencent recently revealed that WeChat has 40-million users overseas, meaning that its reach beyond China is far smaller than WhatsApp’s – and behind the Japan-made Line app as well. Although Tencent seems to be looking to change that, reportedly making recent moves to secure a presence in the South African mobile market. With more than 300-million registered users, it also means that more than a third of WeChat’s total registered users aren’t logging in at least once a month.

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This article by Steven Millward originally appeared on Tech in Asia, a Burn Media publishing partner. Additional reporting by Memeburn.