BANGALORE: With the increase of SmartPhones globally, messenger apps are increasingly making their way as top priorities in the messaging and chatting world. The traditional way of messaging is sinking and newer versions of mobile messaging apps like Line, Whatsapp, Hike, and WeChat are emerging.

WeChat, the popular mobile messaging app offered by the Chinese internet giant Tencent claims to have 430 million active users, closing in on its American rival WhatsApp, which boasts of 500 million active users. WeChat, also known as ‘weixin,’ or micro-message in Chinese, has taken the country by storm in just three years; reports The Times of India.

Founded in November 1998, Tencent has grown into one of China's largest and most used Internet service portal. Since its establishment over the last decade, Tencent has maintained steady growth under its user-oriented operating strategies. On June 16, 2004, Tencent Holdings Limited (SEHK 700) went public on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and achieved the top 1st rank as well.

WeChat is more versatile than its rival WhatsApp, allowing its users to find each other by shaking their smartphones–a common dating technique–and even book and pay for taxis, as well as send text, photos, videos, and voice messages.

In recent years, the popularity of WhatsApp is gradually coming down with WeChat and other messenger apps attracting customers with new features along with better messaging security.

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