XP

W eCh at is a VERY popular Chin ese multipurpose (messenger/social media/payment) app. As expected it's an app that heavily monitors its users regardless of residency. Surprise surprise, it's also owned by Te nce nt just like We bno vel. (FYI, everything on We bno vel is almost certainly also being monitored)

If for some reason you're unaware who or what Te nce nt is, I'd highly recommend reading up on it. They probably have a much larger influence on your life than you'd believe possible.

If that wasn't bad enough, W eC hat has locked international users out of their W eCh at funds. It's become impossible to withdraw any funds that might be stored on that account without a Chi nes e bank account connected to that account.

Summarized, they're just blatantly stealing from all international users. Even if the issue is eventually resolved, money depreciates over time. Just the aspect of having it sit in a locked account is already costing a user money.

Moral of the chapter: Don't leave money in payment services such as We Ch at or P ayP al (Pa yP al often locks users out of their funds for months).