WECHAT – TERMS OF SERVICE

WeChat - The new way to connect

Your use of WeChat is subject to these Terms of Service (these "Terms"). Thank you for reviewing these Terms – we hope you enjoy using WeChat.

If you have any questions about, or if you wish to send us any notices in relation to, these Terms, please contact us by going to “Me” -> “Settings” -> “Help & Feedback” from within WeChat or by visiting help.wechat.com.

Compliance with these Terms

By using WeChat, you are agreeing to be bound by these Terms between you and:

International Dialling Code of the Phone Number Linked to your AccountContracting EntityAddress
If the international dialling code of the phone number linked to your account is in any country other than the UK, EEA or Switzerland (as defined below) or People's Republic of China (excluding Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macau) (“China Mainland”)WeChat International Pte. Ltd.10 Anson Road, #21-07 International Plaza, Singapore 079903
If the international dialling code of the phone number linked to your account is in United Kingdom, European Economic Area or Switzerland (“UK, EEA or Switzerland”)Tencent International Services Europe BVBuitenveldertselaan 1-5, 1082 VA Amsterdam, the Netherlands

(in each case, “we”, “our” and “us”).

We may specify in certain of our WeChat service-specific terms that you are contracting with one of our affiliate companies (instead of WeChat International Pte. Ltd. or Tencent International Services Europe BV, as applicable) in relation to your use of the relevant WeChat service or feature to which the relevant service-specific terms apply. Where this is the case, the relevant contracting entity will be identified in the relevant WeChat service-specific terms. These Terms (including those relevant service-specific terms) will apply between you and that identified contracting entity in relation to your use of the relevant WeChat service or feature.

These Terms only apply to you if you are a WeChat user, meaning that you have registered by linking a mobile number that uses international dialling codes other than +86 (a “non-China Mainland mobile number”).

These Terms do not apply to you if you are a Weixin user. You are a Weixin user if you either:

If you are a Weixin user, you are subject to the Weixin Agreement on Software License and Service of Tencent Weixin (the “Weixin Terms of Service”) and not to these Terms.

You can also check whether you are a WeChat or Weixin user by clicking “Me” > “Settings” > “About” and then clicking the link to the “Terms of Service”. If you see the WeChat – Terms of Service then you are a WeChat user. If you see the Agreement on Software License and Service of Tencent Weixin then you are a Weixin user.

If there is a subsequent change in the international dialling code of the phone number linked to your WeChat or Weixin account (either from a China Mainland mobile number to a non-China Mainland mobile number, or vice versa), your account will be converted to either a WeChat or Weixin account (as the case may be), and you will be prompted to agree to the corresponding terms of service (either for WeChat or Weixin, as the case may be). You shall also be subject to, and shall abide by, any relevant laws and regulations that apply to the use of the new account (which may different to those that applied prior to the conversion). If you convert your Weixin account to a WeChat account, these Terms apply to you from the date our system records such conversion. If you convert your WeChat account to a Weixin account, these Terms cease to apply to you from the date our system records such conversion. This function is intended to ensure we provide you with the features and services that are most relevant to your account. Any conversion shall also be in accordance with these Terms and any other applicable platform rules and regulations, and accounts which attempt to abuse this function (for example, by frequent switching) may have their access restricted in accordance with these Terms.

INTEROPERABILITY WITH WEIXIN

WeChat is interoperable with Weixin, such that you are able to communicate with Weixin users and view each other's Moments and Status in accordance with the applicable terms. You may also be able to use certain features operated by Weixin. Use of those features is subject to the relevant Weixin Terms of Service or service agreement applicable to such feature. For more details, please see below.

Please review these Terms and our policies and instructions to understand how you can and cannot use WeChat. You must comply with these Terms in your use of WeChat and only use WeChat as permitted by applicable laws and regulations, wherever you may be when you use them. In some countries, there are restrictions on your use of WeChat – it is your responsibility to ensure that you are legally allowed to use WeChat where you are located, and certain WeChat functionalities may not be available in some countries.

By using WeChat, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use WeChat.

Other general terms in relation to these Terms

If you are under the age of 13 (or such applicable legal minimum age in your jurisdiction), you must not use WeChat for any purpose without first obtaining your parent or guardian’s agreement to these Terms (both for themselves and on your behalf).

If you are using WeChat on behalf of a company, partnership, association, government or other organisation (your “Organisation”), you warrant that you are authorised to do so and that you are authorised to bind your Organisation to these Terms. In such circumstances, “you” will include your Organisation.

We may translate these Terms into multiple languages. If there is any difference between the English version and any other language version of these Terms, the English version will apply (to the extent permitted by applicable laws and regulations).

ADDITIONAL TERMS AND POLICIES

A diverse range of services and features are available within or via WeChat, and not all of these services and features are operated by us. There are additional terms and policies that may be applicable to your use of all or part of WeChat (the "Additional Terms"). For those services and features that we operate, we will notify you of the Additional Terms from time to time, including as set out in this section and otherwise from time to time within WeChat. These Additional Terms all form part of and are incorporated into these Terms.

If you are using any services or features operated by a third party (including Weixin), your use of those services or features will be subject to the terms that apply to that particular service. Please contact the relevant third party if you are unsure what terms apply to that particular service.

The following policies are Additional Terms that you must comply with in using WeChat:

Terms applicable to specific WeChat features

Some of the services and features available within or via WeChat have Additional Terms specific to their use. You must comply with such Additional Terms (as well as these Terms) in your use of such services and features. Such service-specific Additional Terms include:

Additional country-specific terms

If you are a citizen or a habitual resident of the following countries, the following country-specific Additional Terms will also apply to your use of WeChat:

Subject to the next paragraph and except as otherwise expressly specified within these Terms or any Additional Terms – to the extent that any Additional Terms conflict with these Terms, the relevant Additional Terms will apply to the extent of the conflict.

CHANGES

We may make changes to these Terms (and any applicable Additional Terms) over time (for example, to reflect technical improvements and changes to WeChat (for example, to address a security threat) or applicable laws and regulations (for example, to reflect applicable consumer rights)), so please come back and review these Terms regularly.

Where we consider that such changes are material, we will (where reasonably practicable) notify you (on this page or the relevant page for the relevant additional terms or policy, via the WeChat app, by direct communication to you, or other means), prior to such changes becoming effective. By continuing to use WeChat after we make any changes to these Terms, you are agreeing to be bound by the revised Terms.

CHANGES TO WECHAT

As WeChat and user experiences are constantly evolving, we may from time to time:

You agree that we may take any such actions at any time. Where we consider that any changes to WeChat or any services or features accessible within WeChat are reasonably material, we will (where reasonably practicable) notify you (via http://www.wechat.com, direct communication to you, on this page or the relevant page for the relevant additional terms or policy, or other means), prior to such changes becoming effective.

YOUR ACCOUNT

You need to create an account with us in order to access and use WeChat. Any account that you open with us is personal to you and you are prohibited from gifting, lending, transferring or otherwise permitting any other person to access or use your account. Your account name, user ID and other identifiers you adopt within WeChat remains our property and we can disable, reclaim and reuse these once your account is terminated or deactivated for whatever reason by either you or us.

You are responsible for:

We may allow you to register for and login to WeChat using sign-on functionalities provided by third party platforms, such as Facebook or Apple. You agree to comply with the relevant third party platform's terms and conditions applicable to your use of such functionalities (in addition to these Terms).

SUBSCRIPTIONS & CONTENT PURCHASES

From time to time, certain products or services within WeChat may be subject to payment (including for the provision of WeChat or provision of certain additional features within WeChat). We may set out further terms applying to such payments (including in relation to refunds (if any), billing arrangements and any consequences of failing to make timely payments). You must comply with all such terms in relation to your payments to us for such products or services. You agree that you are solely responsible for all fees and taxes associated with any such payments. and that pricing and availability of Items and products are subject to change at any time.

If such products or services are subject to automatic, recurring or subscription-based charges, then you agree that (subject to applicable laws and regulations):

We may change any fees that we charge for WeChat (or any parts of WeChat) at any time upon publication within WeChat. If you do not accept such change to the fees, we may be unable to provide WeChat (or the relevant part of WeChat) to you.

SUBJECT TO MANDATORY APPLICABLE LAWS AND REGULATIONS OR AS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED BY US IN THESE TERMS OR FOR A PARTICULAR ITEM OR SERVICE WITHIN WECHAT, IN NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL WE BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE A REFUND FOR ANY PAYMENTS MADE BY YOU TO US IN RELATION TO ANY ITEMS OR SERVICE WITHIN WECHAT (WHETHER USED OR UNUSED).

If you believe that we have charged you in error, and subject to applicable laws and regulations:

YOUR CONTENT

When you submit, upload, transmit or display any data, information, media or other content in connection with your use of WeChat (“Your Content”), you understand and agree that:

In addition, you agree that we and our affiliate companies (subject to these Terms, our WeChat Privacy Policy and applicable laws and regulations):

You understand that even if you seek to delete Your Content from WeChat, it may as a technical and administrative matter take some time or not be possible to achieve this – for example, we may not be able to prevent any third party from storing or using any of Your Content that you have made public via WeChat. Further information on your rights in relation to Your Content are set out in our WeChat Privacy Policy.

We reserve the right to block or remove Your Content for any reason, including as is in our opinion appropriate, as required by applicable laws and regulations or in accordance with the Copyright Policy and WeChat Acceptable Use Policy. We reserve the right to determine the visibility, status, or rank of Your Content on WeChat.

Responsibility for Your Content

You are solely responsible for Your Content. We are not responsible for maintaining a backup of Your Content - we recommend that you keep a back-up copy of it at all times.

You must at all times ensure that:

INFRINGEMENT OF RIGHTS

We comply with the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act applicable to Internet service providers (17 U.S.C. §512, as amended) (the "DMCA"). If you have an intellectual property rights-related complaint about any content posted in WeChat, please follow the instructions set out in our Copyright Policy.

THIRD PARTY CONTENT AND SERVICES

When you use WeChat you may be able to access content from a variety of sources – it may be content posted by other users of WeChat, content provided by third parties that operate Weixin Official Accounts or Mini Programs, content you see in advertisements prepared by third parties, or any other third party content made available or accessible when using WeChat (together we refer to all of this content as “Third-Party Content”).

All Third-Party Content must comply with our policies, as well as applicable laws and regulations. If we receive a complaint, or become aware of a concern, regarding Third-Party Content, then we may review that Third-Party Content. We may take action to ensure the Third-Party Content complies with our policies, or if it is considered to have violated our policies, we may remove or refuse to make available or link to it. This may be, for example, if the Third-Party Content is considered by us, or is alleged, to infringe intellectual property rights, is determined to be obscene, defamatory or abusive, if it violates any rights, or if it poses any risk to the security or performance of WeChat.

You should remain vigilant when accessing, using or consuming Third-Party Content. We cannot review all Third-Party Content prior to it being posted, so if you believe any Third-Party Content is inaccurate, misleading, defamatory, offensive or unlawful please let us know immediately. Please also remember that Third-Party Content, as well as any other information or content accessible via WeChat that is not posted by you, may be owned by a third party, and just because you have accessed content on WeChat does not mean you have any rights in or to any such content. You should always respect the rights of others when using WeChat – if you would like to use content in a particular way you should always seek permission from the relevant rights holder.

The WeChat platform also provides access to a variety of third party products and services – such as Mini Programs made available on the Weixin Mini Programs Platform; Official Accounts; websites provided, made available, advertised or linked through WeChat (including any of WeChat's associated platforms or services); and other products and services offered or advertised by third parties. These products, services and websites are operated by third parties, so we are unable to guarantee their quality, reliability or suitability. If you use or interact with these third party offerings then you should direct any questions, complaints or queries to the relevant third party who operates that offering, as we bear no responsibility for your use of those offerings, or any relationship you may enter into with any such third parties (including any payment obligations or fees that you may incur in your use of such third party offerings).

Offerings made available by third parties, or Third-Party Content, may also be subject to further terms from that third party – for example, terms from the relevant third party that originally produced or created such content or service, terms in relation to promotional activities being held on WeChat, terms relating to your use of third party-provided WeChat login functionality, or terms governing your use of any Mini Programs provided by a third party. You are solely responsible for reviewing and complying with any such third party terms and conditions.

We have the right to remove, at our sole discretion and without notice to you, any content, programs and/or services that are made available within WeChat (including any of WeChat's associated platforms or services), in accordance with these Terms.

Interoperability with Weixin

WeChat is interoperable with Weixin, such that you are able to communicate with Weixin users and view each other's Moments and Status in accordance with the applicable terms. You may also be able to use certain features operated by Weixin. You may view the list of features operated by Weixin here. Please note that when you interact with a Weixin user, or use or receive notifications from any feature operated by Weixin (together "Interoperable Interaction"), the Weixin users you interact with are not subject to these Terms, and instead are subject to the Weixin Terms of Service and the Standards of Weixin Account Usage meaning that we will share your information with Weixin to the extent necessary to facilitate your Interoperable Interaction and your information may be retained, shared and/or stored by Weixin in a different manner to what is described in these Terms or the WeChat Privacy Policy. You can read about how Weixin operates, and how Weixin retains, shares and stores information, in the Weixin Terms of Service and the Weixin Privacy Protection Guidelines. In addition, if your interaction with Weixin users potentially causes such Weixin users to violate the Weixin Terms of Service, Standards of Weixin Account Usage and any other applicable laws and regulations, Weixin may at its discretion, restrict or limit the interoperability of Weixin with WeChat, including restricting or limiting Weixin users from interacting with WeChat users.

Weixin Official Accounts and Mini Programs

The Weixin Official Account and Weixin Mini Program functions accessible via WeChat are China Mainland services provided by Weixin. The content in such Official Accounts and Mini Programs are registered, developed, operated, and owned by third parties unrelated to WeChat or Weixin (unless otherwise stated in the relevant Official Account or Mini Program). When you interact with such Official Accounts and Mini Programs, your use of the relevant Official Accounts and Mini Programs will be subject to those third party developer's own terms for the relevant Official Account or Mini Program and not these Terms.

If you are a Weixin Pay user, you may be able to access Weixin Pay via the WeChat platform. Weixin Pay is operated by a China Mainland licensed entity and the use of Weixin Pay service is subject to the Weixin Pay User Service Agreement.

ADVERTISING CONTENT ON WECHAT

WeChat may include advertising or commercial content. You agree that:

OUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

All intellectual property rights in or to WeChat and any WeChat Software (including any future updates, upgrades and new versions to all such WeChat Software), will continue to belong to us and our licensors. Except as expressly provided in these Terms, you have no right to use our intellectual property rights, including our trademarks or product names, logos, domain names or other distinctive brand features, without our prior written consent. Any comments or suggestions you may provide regarding WeChat are entirely voluntary and we will be free to use these comments and suggestions at our discretion (including using such comments to improve existing services or create new services) without any payment or other obligation to you.

We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable, non-transferrable, royalty-free and revocable right to use WeChat and any software from us as part of or in relation to your use of WeChat (any such software being the "WeChat Software"), solely in accordance with these Terms and subject to any other instructions as provided by us to you in relation to your use of WeChat and/or the WeChat Software from time to time. Please note that these terms may be supplemented by terms and conditions applicable to WeChat Software (or specific features within WeChat Software).

You may not copy, modify, create derivative works, reverse compile, reverse engineer or extract source codes from WeChat Software, and you may not sell, distribute, redistribute or sublicense WeChat or the WeChat Software, except in each case to the extent that we may not prohibit you from doing so under applicable laws or regulations or you have our prior written consent to do so. Where applicable laws or regulations entitle you to reverse compile or extract source codes from WeChat Software, you will first contact us to request the information you need.

We may from time to time provide updates to WeChat Software. Such updates may occur automatically or manually. Please note that WeChat Software may not operate properly or at all if upgrades or new versions are not installed by you. We do not guarantee that we will provide any updates for any WeChat Software, or that such updates will continue to support your device or system. All updates to the WeChat Software are part of the WeChat Software and subject to these Terms, except as otherwise specified by us.

For the purposes of these Terms, “WeChat Software” includes any items, content or features (the "Items") within the WeChat Software – for example, Stickers, games or other downloadable items within WeChat, and any content accessed or used by you within WeChat. You must comply with any Additional Terms applicable to any such Items. We will notify you of any such additional terms and conditions within WeChat, within an Appendix to these Terms and/or in another manner. We may grant you a limited right to use these Items upon payment by you of "real world money" as applicable from time to time. You acknowledge that you do not own these Items and the amounts associated with such Items do not refer to any credit balance of real currency or the equivalent. We may eliminate these Items from WeChat at any time, and we have no liability to you in the event that we exercise these rights.

For the purpose of these Terms, "WeChat Software" also includes any APIs we make available to you for use in connection with WeChat or the WeChat Software. You must comply with any Additional Terms applicable to such APIs.

We may in our discretion provide technical support for WeChat (whether for free or for a fee). We provide technical support without any guarantee or warranty of any kind, and subject always to these Terms.

OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

Certain WeChat Software may contain software that are subject to “open source” licences (the “Open Source Software”). Where we use such Open Source Software, please note that:

USE OF YOUR DEVICE BY WECHAT

In order for us to provide WeChat to you, we may require virtual access to and/or use of your relevant device (e.g. mobile phone, tablet or desktop computer) that you use to access WeChat – for example, we may need to use your device's processor and storage to complete the relevant WeChat Software installation, or we may need to access your contact list to provide certain interactive functions within WeChat.

We will provide further information regarding how WeChat uses and accesses your device within WeChat or in another manner (e.g. via the relevant app store as part of the installation process for WeChat on your device). You agree to give us such access to and use of your device, and you acknowledge that if you do not provide us with such right of use or access, we may not be able to provide WeChat (or certain features within WeChat) to you.

Any Personal Information (as defined in the WeChat Privacy Policy) that we use or access within your device will be treated in accordance with these Terms, including our WeChat Privacy Policy.

You may need an adequate internet connection in order to authenticate your WeChat account or use WeChat. You may also be required to activate certain functionalities within WeChat in the manner described within WeChat. You may not be able to use certain functionalities within WeChat if you do not comply with such requirements.

Please note that we are not responsible for any third party charges you incur (including any charges from your internet and telecommunication services providers) in relation to or arising from your use of WeChat or WeChat Software.

THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE AND CONNECTIVITY

You are solely responsible for any software (whether your own software or software supplied by third parties) used by you in connection with your use of WeChat, including any third party software or services made available to you through WeChat, such as Mini Programs made available on the Weixin Mini Programs Platform ("Third Party Software").

Please note that we are not responsible for and are not liable for any damages or losses arising from your use of the Third Party Software and we do not endorse, support or guarantee the quality, reliability or suitability of any Third Party Software. You must comply with any terms and conditions applicable to Third Party Software.

We do not provide any technical support for any Third Party Software. Please contact the relevant supplying third party for such technical support.

You will need an adequate internet connection in order to authenticate your WeChat account or use WeChat. You may also be required to activate certain functionalities within WeChat in the manner described within WeChat. You may not be able to use certain features within WeChat if you do not comply with such requirements.

Please note that we are not responsible for any third party charges you incur (including any charges from your internet and telecommunication services providers) in relation to or arising from your use of WeChat or WeChat Software.

WARRANTY AND DISCLAIMER

We warrant to you that we will provide WeChat using reasonable care and skill.

APART FROM THIS WARRANTY, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAWS AND REGULATIONS, WECHAT (INCLUDING ANY WECHAT SOFTWARE) IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS AND NEITHER US NOR ANY OF OUR AFFILIATE COMPANIES MAKE ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OR GIVE ANY UNDERTAKING IN RELATION TO WECHAT, ANY WECHAT SOFTWARE OR ANY DATA, MEDIA OR OTHER CONTENT SUBMITTED, TRANSMITTED OR DISPLAYED BY WECHAT, INCLUDING:

LIABILITY FOR WECHAT

TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAWS AND REGULATIONS, THE TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF US AND OUR AFFILIATE COMPANIES FOR ALL CLAIMS IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS, OR WECHAT (INCLUDING ANY WECHAT SOFTWARE), ARISING OUT OF ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, WILL BE LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF THE FOLLOWING AMOUNTS: