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Robin
产品总结

WeChat Product Rules Analysis

1/20/2017 · 7 min read

WeChat Product Rules Analysis

A good product must meet user needs.

During the user experience, however, without sensible rule constraints, users may overuse features and drift off course.

Product rules may look like constraints, but they actually embody product philosophy and safeguard a good experience.

Based on WeChat's official FAQ, here is a partial compilation of WeChat product rules.

Rules are mainly implemented through the following dimensions:

  1. Limits on text input and voice message length;
  2. Restrictions on content viewing permissions;
  3. Limits on how often features can be used;
  4. Time-based restrictions on feature usage;
  5. Participant-count-based restrictions on feature usage;

These dimensions are built around the following core principles:

  1. Do not disturb users — "Mute Notifications," Moments comment notification rules
  2. Do not interrupt the experience — voice and text length limits
  3. Do not scatter user attention — "The other person is typing" only shows when they reply within 10 seconds of your message
  4. Protect security and privacy — voice messages cannot be forwarded; friend-request settings
  5. Help users categorize friends — pin chat, starred friends, Moments tags
  6. Exercise restraint around product positioning — Drift Bottle limits, group join rules, Moments viewing rules, personal QR code sharing rules
  7. Basic UX rules — recall rules, rules for leaving a group vs. being removed

Ensure a closed experience loop — group QR code time limits, friend request expiration limits

Below are collected rules plus my analysis and interpretation:

  • Profile settings rules

    • WeChat ID: 6–20 letters, digits, underscores, or hyphens; must start with a letter (case-insensitive); Chinese not supported; can only be set once.
    • Set nickname, gender, region, signature, and other profile info as needed.
    • Nickname: up to 8 Chinese characters or 16 alphanumeric characters.
    • Signature: up to 30 characters.
    • My addresses: used for WeChat Pay; up to 5 shipping addresses.

    Interpretation:

    1. Character limits account for UI display and readability for the other party;

    2. WeChat ID is essentially an identity ID, so it can only be set once and should stay unique;

    3. In practice, there is no need for more than 5 shipping addresses;

  • Group rules

    • Join rules
      • Above 40 members, your invitation requires the other person's consent;
      • Above 100 members, the invitee must pass real-name verification (e.g., by binding a bank card) to accept.
      • WeChat groups cap at 500 members, to reduce harassment from malicious accounts.
      • WeChat does not support refusing group invitations; the team continues improving the product based on user needs.
    • Leave-group rules
      • When the group owner leaves, member count stays the same; the second person who joined becomes the new owner and appears first in the member list. If you rejoin, you do not regain owner status.
      • If you leave a group voluntarily, the server does not keep your chat history. If you are removed, you can still see prior history but cannot receive or view new messages.
      • Removed members no longer receive new group messages, but pre-removal history remains locally on the phone unless deleted.
    • Group message rules
      • Group chat messages cannot be fully blocked; you can mute notifications or leave the group.
      • If WeChat is uninstalled or you log in on another device and a group disappears, ask someone in the group to send a message to surface it again — the "use and leave" principle.

    Interpretation:

    1. Join rules progress from "other party accepts" → "identity verification" → "500-member cap":

    • Groups under 40 are small circles, so no approval is needed;

    • Above 40, membership is more complex and may harass you, so you should decide whether to join; bulk-adding many people at once creates groups without shared attributes — not true communities;

    • Above 100, identity verification is added on top, to reduce harassment;

    • 500 is the cap because a group beyond that exceeds what a group can sustainably carry.

    1. Leave rules differ for voluntary vs. forced exit, showing care for users:

    • Voluntary exit: users expect not to see future history;

    • Forced removal is sudden; users should see prior history to understand context.

    1. Group messages cannot be fully blocked because "mute" already covers the need to check when you want.

  • Conversation rules

    • Conversation state
      • Read receipts are private; WeChat aims for a relaxed environment and does not transmit read status;
      • Pin chat puts that friend's conversation at the top;
      • "The other person is typing" appears only if they reply within 10 seconds after you send a message;
    • Conversation timestamps
      • Same-day messages show time in 5-minute increments;
      • Messages older than 1 day but less than 1 week show weekday + time;
      • Messages older than 1 week show the date;
      • Messages are kept for 72 hours from send time; after that they cannot be viewed or received;
    • Sending messages
      • Hold to talk records voice up to 60 seconds;
      • WeChat camera video up to 10 seconds;
      • Mini videos up to 8 seconds, max 400 KB;
    • Recall
      • Recall within 2 minutes;
      • Supports recalling voice, text, images, video, contacts, location, and shared links; both sides see a recall notice;
      • Temporary save: up to 20 mini videos shot in the last 14 days.
    • Receiving messages
      • Images and video older than 72 hours show "expired or cleaned up" when opened.
    • Broadcast Assistant rules:
      • Animated stickers not supported;
      • Content cannot contain URLs;
      • Single message: ~5,000 characters max;
      • Recipients: up to 200 people;
      • No limit on number of broadcasts for now.

    Interpretation:

    1. "Typing" shows only within 10 seconds because it spikes excitement; beyond that, the other party is not prioritizing the chat. Hiding the state after 10 seconds avoids unnecessary arousal. (Keeps users focused on chatting.)

    2. Pin chat lets users prioritize important contacts. (Keeps users focused on chatting.)

    3. Timestamp display adapts to time span — immediate chats skip full dates. Good contextual cues reduce UI clutter.

    4. Voice and video length limits matter because chat is fragmented, short exchange; long messages interrupt back-and-forth interaction.

    5. Recall within 2 minutes: late recalls make chat unpredictable and erode trust; recall must notify "The other person recalled XX."

  • Moments rules

    • Posting
      • Pure text or text with media on Moments: ~1,500 Chinese characters; 1 symbol = 1 Chinese character; 2 digits/letters = 1 Chinese character;
      • Failed posts show a red exclamation mark;
      • If blocked content spreads via other channels, domains/IPs may be banned;
      • If nearby locations are not found when posting, you can create a new location.
    • Moments does not support direct repost to Moments.
    • Moments notifications
      • @mentioned friends get a Moments alert;
      • Up to 10 friends can be @mentioned;
      • Photo comments notify only the poster;
      • Reply-to-comment notifies only the person replied to;
      • After turning off photo update alerts, no red dot on Discover when friends post;
      • If commenters are mutual friends, all comments on a photo are visible;
      • If not mutual friends, only non-directed replies are visible;
    • Moments permissions
      • When posting, set "Who can see":
      • Public: all friends;
      • Private: only me;
      • Partial: visible groups from contacts;
      • Hide from: groups who cannot see;
      • To stop seeing someone's updates: "Don't view their Moments."

    Interpretation:

    1. Moments notifications split viewing vs. alerting; alerts go to interacting parties only; viewing is limited among mutual friends — balancing privacy and harassment, keeping focus on interaction.

    2. Permission rules reflect that as WeChat spread, friend circles split — hiding some posts from some people is a real need.

  • Contacts

    • Adding friends
      • Me → Settings → Privacy → Add Me → toggle search by WeChat ID, phone, QQ;
      • Friend verification requests expire after 10 days;
      • Same privacy toggles for how others can find you.
    • Block list
      • Neither side sees the other's Moments updates; pre-block photos also hidden;
      • Neither sees updated avatar or signature;
      • Chat history hidden from your list until unblocked, then it reappears;

    Interpretation:

    1. 10-day friend request expiry: after that, people often forget why they wanted to add you;

    2. Control add-me sources to protect privacy;

    3. Block rules protect both sides' privacy;

    4. Personal QR codes are viewable/shareable only by you — limits overspread of personal info, aligned with close-friend social positioning.

Other features

  • People Nearby
    • Strangers (Nearby, Shake) see only the 10 most recent photos;
    • You can clear your location so others cannot find you.
  • Drift Bottle
    • Pick and throw bottles up to 20 times each per day;
    • After deleting a bottle, you no longer receive messages from that bottle;
  • Favorites
    • Supports text, voice, images, video, location, web pages, music, books, products, street view; QQ and symbol stickers (not animated); single-article posts (not multi-article);
    • Total capacity 1 GB; over limit, no new uploads; single file ≤ 25 MB; up to 9 images at once;
    • Forwarding
      • Favorited text and stickers: forward to friends only;
      • Images, web pages, single articles: forward to friends or share to Moments;
      • Favorited voice: cannot be forwarded;

Interpretation:

  1. People Nearby: location-based discovery; show some Moments so nearby users know you; allow clearing location to avoid harassment.

  2. Drift Bottle: wide reach requires quantity caps to limit harassment; overuse would shift WeChat toward stranger social graphs.

  3. Favorited voice cannot be forwarded — voice is uniquely identifying; forwarding would enable impersonation. (Reduces fraud risk.)

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