WeChat dominates region’s mobile app usage

The latest survey published by the Macao Internet Project and several other organizations shows that WeChat has become Macau’s most used mobile application.

The results were included in the 18th annual survey of Macau residents’ Internet usage.

According to the report, 74 percent of Macau residents are WeChat users. Some 87 percent, 75 percent, 55 percent and 44 percent of these users use WeChat to exchange text messages, audio messages, captioned pictures dubbed ‘moments’, and browse official accounts, respectively.

On average, each local user follows eight official accounts on WeChat, with nearly 30 percent following the Macau government’s official account.

Besides the continuous growth in the number of local WeChat users, which increased four percent year-on- year in 2017, the results also show higher overall internet access among local residents.

This year, Macau’s internet access rate reached 84 percent, higher than the global average of 54 percent. The internet access rate among people aged between 18 and 40 years old is almost at 100 percent.

The fastest growth in terms of internet access rate can be seen among the group of people aged over 60, which recorded a 40 percent increase this year.

In total, Macau has nearly 510,000 internet users. 80 percent (490,000) of these use their mobile devices to access the Internet.

Only 20 percent of local residents use mobile payment platforms to make purchases in shops, indicating that they feel such payment methods lack security.