Tencent QQ icon

Tencent QQ

Tencent QQ is a popular Chinese instant messaging platform developed by Tencent. It offers features like chat, file sharing, gaming, and social networking to its users.

What is Tencent QQ?

Tencent QQ, often referred to as QQ, is a free instant messaging software service and web portal developed by the Chinese tech giant Tencent. QQ also offers a variety of additional features beyond instant messaging, including social networking services, music streaming, shopping, microblogging, gaming, and more.

First launched in 1999, QQ quickly became the dominant IM platform in China thanks to its ease of use, abundance of emojis and stickers, and integration with other Tencent services. It provides users the ability to chat one-on-one and in groups, share files, make voice and video calls, play built-in games, listen to music, and more.

As of 2022, QQ has over 580 million active monthly users, making it one of the largest IM platforms worldwide. The majority of its users are based in mainland China and other Chinese-speaking regions. Beyond instant messaging, QQ aims to be an all-in-one platform for communication, entertainment, and lifestyle services tailored for a Chinese audience.

The appeal of QQ lies in its being a one-stop shop for messaging and so much more. The ecosystem of Tencent apps integrated with QQ gives users access to services like social networking, payments, gaming, news, and more without ever needing to leave the QQ app. This convenience and abundance of features is key to QQ's widespread adoption in China.

The Best Tencent QQ Alternatives

Top Apps like Tencent QQ

WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Facebook Messenger, Skype, Adium, Tox, Trillian, Zulip, Telegram X, Conversations, Yoono, QuickCall.com are some alternatives to Tencent QQ.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp is a freeware, cross-platform centralized instant messaging (IM) and voice over IP (VoIP) service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to send text messages, voice messages, video calls, images, documents, and user location for free over an internet data connection.Originally launched in 2009, WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook...

Telegram

Telegram is a popular cloud-based instant messaging and voice over IP service launched in 2013 by Pavel Durov and Nikolai Durov. It emphasizes security and speed over other messaging applications. Some key features of Telegram include:End-to-end encrypted messaging, video calls, group chats, file sharing etc.Sync across multiple devices like...

Signal

Signal is a free, open source software application for iOS, Android, and Desktop that employs end-to-end encryption, allowing users to send end-to-end encrypted group, text, picture, and audio & video messages, and have encrypted phone conversations between Signal users.First released in July 2014, Signal is developed by the Signal Foundation...

Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger is a messaging app and platform developed by Facebook. It was originally built into the Facebook app but was spun off into its own separate app in 2014.Messenger allows Facebook users to send messages, photos, videos, make voice and video calls, and more to contacts. Some key features...

Skype

Skype is a telecommunications software application that specializes in providing video chat and voice calls between computers, tablets, mobile devices, the Xbox One console, and smartwatches via the Internet. Skype also provides instant messaging services. Users may transmit text, video, audio and images.Skype was first released in August 2003. eBay...

Adium

Adium is a free and open source instant messaging application developed specifically for the macOS operating system. It supports many popular chat networks and protocols including AIM, ICQ, Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, and Jabber/XMPP.Some key features of Adium include:A simple and easy-to-use interface that can...

Tox

Tox is an open-source, peer-to-peer instant messaging and video calling platform that focuses on privacy and security. It provides end-to-end encryption for chats and calls to ensure user data remains private.Unlike many other messaging apps, Tox does not rely on central servers - it uses a distributed network where...

Trillian

Trillian is a popular multi-protocol instant messaging client developed by Cerulean Studios. It enables users to simultaneously use multiple IM services and protocols, including AIM, ICQ, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, IRC, XMPP/Jabber, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, Novell GroupWise Messenger, Lotus Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE, and Zephyr networks all from one application...

Zulip

Zulip is an open-source team chat application developed by Zulip, Inc. It brings conversations from different channels into one easy-to-follow flow, allowing you to keep up with multiple ongoing discussions simultaneously via threads.Some key features of Zulip include:Public and private streams for organizing conversationsThreaded messaging to trace conversations...

Telegram X

Telegram X is a messaging application developed for Android that offers robust privacy and security features for user conversations. It is a feature-rich version of Telegram's popular mobile app, focusing on improving speed and usability.Some key features of Telegram X include:End-to-end encrypted messaging for secure private chatsGroup chats...

Conversations

Conversations is an open source, encrypted instant messaging client for Android. It enables secure communication by implementing the Off-the-Record encryption protocol and the Tor anonymity network to prevent eavesdropping and surveillance.Some key features of Conversations include:End-to-end encryption using OMEMO to keep chats, group chats, calls and file transfers...

Yoono

Yoono is a browser extension available for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera that aims to enhance the web browsing and research experience. It works by augmenting web pages with additional contextual information, recommendations, and functionality.Some of the key features Yoono offers include:Article Recommendations - Yoono will recommend related...

QuickCall.com

QuickCall.com is a leading provider of cloud-based phone systems for small businesses. Its intuitive web interface makes it easy for companies to set up a reliable phone system quickly without the need for expensive hardware or technicians.Some key features of QuickCall.com include:Auto Attendant - Customize a...