WeChat is China's most popular app

Warc, 27 June 2014

BEIJING: WeChat, the messaging app and e-commerce platform owned by Tencent, China's largest internet portal, has been named as the country's most popular app in new top ten rankings.

According to online research firm EnfoDesk, part of the Chinese Analysys network, WeChat secured 359.9m users in May 2014, closely followed by QQ with 307.3m users and QQ Music with 129m users, digital news outlet Quartz reported.

Both QQ apps are also owned by Tencent, which took another two places in EnfoDesk's top ten with its QQ Browser in fifth place (106.1m users) and its Sogo Input app in ninth (80.1m users).

The 360 Phone Guardian app from Qihoo was ranked fourth (110.3m users) while Alibaba, the Chinese internet giant which is filing for an IPO in the US, secured two places.

Its UC Web and Taobao apps were ranked sixth and seventh respectively (98m and 98.1m users) while Qihoo's 360 Mobile Assistant was ranked eighth with 85.9m users. Online news portal Sohu News rounded out the top ten with 78.6m users.

Internet giant Baidu did not make it into the top ten, but it emerged that it has become China's main source for locating apps.

Analysys said Baidu was the source for more than 41% of the 23.4bn apps downloaded in China in the first quarter of 2014, Tech in Asia reported.

Qihoo lagged behind Baidu with 27% market share, followed by Tencent (16%) and the independent Wandoujia at 7%.

Data sourced from Quartz, Tech in Asia; additional content by Warc staff