The tech that is chinese has revealed three brand brand brand new dating apps within the last couple of months.

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Tencent (OTC:TCEHY) guidelines China’s mobile texting market with WeChat, which acts 1.15 billion month-to-month active users (MAUs). Its ecosystem of over a million “mini programs” allows users to look, purchase meals, play games, hail trips, make re re payments, and much more — all without ever making the application.

Meanwhile, Momo (NASDAQ:MOMO) may be the online that is top platform in Asia. Its namesake application started off as a social network software|networking that is social}, but gradually developed as a platform for online dating sites and live videos.

Momo’s smaller software, Tantan, is basically a clone that is chinese of Group’s Tinder. Momo’s core software had 114.1 million MAUs last quarter, and 13.4 million of them purchased gifts that are virtual subscribed to premium online dating services on Momo and Tantan.

Image supply: Getty Graphics.

Those two businesses aren’t considered rivals, but Tencent recently established three torpedoes at Momo: an anonymous video clip dating app called Maohu (“Catcall”), a Tinder-like application called Qingliao (“Light Chat”), and a reboot of their Pengyou (“Friends”) app as a social network by having an opt-in relationship feature.

What’s Tencent up to?

WeChat’s MAUs expanded 6% yearly final kenyancupid quarter, but it is just a matter of minutes before this ubiquitous “super software” runs away from space to develop in Asia. Meanwhile, Gen Z-oriented competitors like ByteDance’s TikTok and Bilibili are attracting younger users, while WeChat seems shackled to its reputation being an application for older users.

A study that is recent research firm Jiguang unearthed that simply 15% of Chinese users created posted day-to-day updates on WeChat, compared to 57% of users created. That is much like the generation gap between Twitter and Instagram in Western markets, where parents saturated the former and teens that are sent toward the latter. WeChat is also commonly considered a “work software,” since supervisors put it to use to help keep monitoring of their staff.

To put it simply, Tencent requires new how to achieve more youthful users, and Momo’s streak of double-digit income development shows that online dating sites is nevertheless a market that is fertile.

Meet Maohu, Qingliao, and Pengyou

Maohu, which established on the , lets users talk anonymously with strangers while donning electronic masks. Male users can wear the mask for no more than five full minutes, while feminine users can indefinitely wear a mask. As soon as a person eliminates their mask, beauty filters are used immediately towards the video that is live.

Qingliao, that has been introduced in belated November, resembles Momo’s Tantan and Match’s Tinder, but does not follow the swiping mechanic of the two apps. Alternatively, it just provides two alternatives from the side that is right of profile — anyone to “like” it, and another to dismiss it.

Its primary page shows a carousel of possible matches, and users can scroll right down to see more information like a individual’s career, academic back ground, hobbies, location, and social networking postings. The matches are refreshed every 18 hours. The software is being tested on an basis that is invite-only.

Image supply: Getty Pictures.

Pengyou, that has been relaunched in mid-December, is definitely an updated form of an adult networking that is social that ended up being discontinued. The newest application resembles Instagram featuring its principal feed of solitary pictures, however it splits its feed into three groups — buddies, peers, and people whom are now living in the exact exact exact exact exact exact same town.

Users want to validate personal credentials to their identities, and additionally they can opt-in for dating matches. This simple approach is comparable to Twitter’s opt-in strategy with Twitter Dating. Like Qingliao, Pengyou remains being tested for an basis that is invite-only.

Should Momo be concerned?

Tencent obviously wants to leverage the potency of its WeChat and QQ ecosystems to achieve fresh footholds when you look at the online dating market. This might be bad news for Momo, which struggled with decelerating development in MAUs and revenue within the year that is past