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Thread: WeChat, what do I need to know?

  1. #61
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    Quote Originally Posted by ExtraSlow View Post
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    I wonder how much of this is a real security threat, and how much is just propaganda. The whole banning Huawei thing just seemed like a lobbyist move more than an actual security issue.

    Is WeChat really any worse than other apps for spying on people? I swear almost everything I talk about with friends over coffee or drinks shows up in my feed on Facebook or as Google ads later on that day.

    Quote Originally Posted by ExtraSlow View Post
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    Maybe I'm paranoid, but is there anything special I need to know in regards to Wechat? I don't hear of it being used here in north America often.
    I think you probably get enrolled in their social credit system as soon as you get an account. Although you pretty much get enrolled if you ever do business or visit China anyway.
    Last edited by Sugarphreak; 10-31-2023 at 09:40 AM.

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    My take on Wechat, seems to be under the microscope more than tech companies from other countries, is this:

    With WeChat, we know for sure the Chinese government is using it for citizen surveillance. That's not really in dispute by anyone I find credible. My OPINION on that software is that for all intents and purposes, WeChat, is itself a government surveillance product first and foremost, and the consumer features merely enable that surveillance. That's the main reason your very account cannot ever be anonymous, and must be both tied back to good quality identifying information for you personally, AND must be tied back to a Chinese citizen through a system of verification before your account can be activated.

    Facebook, Google, Amazon etc ARE collecting data for a varsity of purposes, which they will tell you are entirely commercial reasons. Some people think the USA government (or other government) is involved with some level of access to that data, but that debatable to the scale and scope that it could be true.
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    You realize you are talking to the guy who made his own furniture out of salad bowls right?

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    It is of course being used for surveillance, no doubt. I just don't know if the app can actually steal/send sensitive information from your phone above and beyond what other apps can do.

    The one thing we don't really consider is that WeChat doubles as a universal pay system and integrated banking app. When you live in China, you do the vast majority of your payments and transactions through it now. Because of this, it innately has to be verified to cut down on scammers and improve security for users. Covid has also played a part in mass adoption because people don't want to handle cash anymore.

    It is actually a bit of a problem for foreigners in China now because you need it for everything. Without a linked bank account (which you can't get as a tourist/visitor) you can't even do simple things like buy things from no-cash convince stores or use a taxi hailing app, you are stuck hailing them down by hand.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sugarphreak View Post
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    It is of course being used for surveillance, no doubt. I just don't know if the app can actually steal/send sensitive information from your phone above and beyond what other apps can do.
    For the purposes of this discussion, sure it's collecting the same amount / type of information.

    The concern is the audience of this information. US corporations trying to milk you for ad revunue purposes, vs. PRC gov't capturing you / send you mysteriously missing for national security purposes.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jwslam View Post
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    For the purposes of this discussion, sure it's collecting the same amount / type of information.

    The concern is the audience of this information. US corporations trying to milk you for ad revunue purposes, vs. PRC gov't capturing you / send you mysteriously missing for national security purposes.
    That is fair. However, unless you are a political activist or something, the COP doesn't have much interest in you. You get your social credit number, and as long as you don't mouth off about the government or one of their banned topics, you fly under the radar.

    Meanwhile the ones collecting info to pump you for revenue are much more actively trying to pry every detail about you out.

    I don't know which is worse, haha

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sugarphreak View Post
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    That is fair. However, unless you are a political activist or something, the COP doesn't have much interest in you. You get your social credit number, and as long as you don't mouth off about the government or one of their banned topics, you fly under the radar.
    Totally disagree. They are right up your business if you want to move money too, and anyone with money in china wants to move money....
    Quote Originally Posted by killramos View Post
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    Quote Originally Posted by ExtraSlow View Post
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    Totally disagree. They are right up your business if you want to move money too, and anyone with money in china wants to move money....
    Yeah that would also do it. Although, to be fair, if you try to move a large sum of money in and out of Canada, our government will take a keen interest.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ExtraSlow View Post
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    Totally disagree. They are right up your business if you want to move money too, and anyone with money in china wants to move money....
    Money is like water, they'll always find a way.

    This is why Evergrande boss is detained. He's trying to use US bankruptcy law to protect asset he moved outside of China.

    WeChat is a whole other level of evil. But we have the exact same thing here but in many different pieces that's not coordinated/integrated nicely. WeChat, 1 button pushed and you disappear.

    But it's over. Nobody take cash in China now. You are forced onto a paying platform that's all controlled by government.
    Last edited by Xtrema; 10-31-2023 at 05:10 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sugarphreak View Post
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    I wonder how much of this is a real security threat, and how much is just propaganda. The whole banning Huawei thing just seemed like a lobbyist move more than an actual security issue.

    Is WeChat really any worse than other apps for spying on people? I swear almost everything I talk about with friends over coffee or drinks shows up in my feed on Facebook or as Google ads later on that day.

    I think you probably get enrolled in their social credit system as soon as you get an account. Although you pretty much get enrolled if you ever do business or visit China anyway.
    +1, before they look at Chinese App, they need to look within and fix this privacy issue with all apps/phone/smart devices
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