Could Tencent Topple Momo as the « Tinder of Asia »?

Could Tencent Topple Momo as the « Tinder of Asia »?

The tech that is chinese has revealed three brand brand new dating apps in 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 search, purchase meals, play games, hail trips, make re re payments, and much more — all without ever making the software.

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

Momo’s smaller software, Tantan, is basically a Chinese clone of Match Group’s Tinder. Momo’s core application had 114.1 million MAUs last quarter, and 13.4 million of them bought digital presents or subscribed to premium online dating services on Momo and Tantan.

Image supply: Getty Photos.

Both of these businesses are not considered rivals, but Tencent recently established three torpedoes at Momo: an anonymous movie dating app called Maohu (« Catcall »), a Tinder-like application called Qingliao (« Light Chat »), and a reboot Pengyou (« Friends ») app as a myspace and facebook having an dating feature that is opt-in.

What’s Tencent up to?

WeChat’s MAUs expanded 6% yearly final quarter, but it is just a matter of the time before this ubiquitous « super application » runs out of space to develop in Asia. Meanwhile, Gen Z-oriented competitors like ByteDance’s TikTok and Bilibili are attracting more youthful users, while WeChat seems shackled to its reputation being an software 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 similar to the generation gap between Twitter and Instagram in Western markets, where moms and dads saturated the former and teens that are sent toward the latter. WeChat is also commonly considered a « work application, » since supervisors put it to use to help keep track of their workers.

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

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Meet Maohu, Qingliao, and Pengyou

Maohu, which established throughout the summer time, lets users talk anonymously with strangers while donning masks that are digital. Male users can wear the mask for at the most 5 minutes, while feminine users can wear a mask indefinitely. When a person eliminates his / her mask, beauty filters are used immediately to your 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 these 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 web page shows a carousel of possible matches, and users can scroll right down to see information that is additional a individual’s career, academic history, 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 Graphics.

Pengyou, that has been relaunched in mid-December, can be an updated type of a mature social network software that was discontinued. The brand new application resembles Instagram featuring its principal feed of solitary pictures, nonetheless it splits its feed into three groups — buddies, peers, and folks whom reside in the city that is same.

Users have to confirm their identities with individual qualifications, in addition they can opt-in for dating matches. This approach that is subtle just like Twitter’s opt-in strategy with Twitter Dating. Like Qingliao, Pengyou continues to be being tested on an basis that is invite-only.

Should Momo worry?

Tencent demonstrably wants to leverage the effectiveness of its WeChat and QQ ecosystems to get fresh footholds within the online dating market. this may be bad news for Momo, which struggled with decelerating development in MAUs and revenue throughout the year that is past