Products · Product
Raised as a usability problem by 33 people on Hacker News over 12 years (2015–2026), in 32 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Random logouts and QR code login make third-party clients painfulUnreviewed
20152026- Creating or reactivating an account requires another user to scan a QR code2020-09-18
- Random logouts and QR code login make third-party clients painful to use2017-08-24
- QR code login fails with error, and desktop client cannot show messages received while computer is off2016-10-03
Paying takes far longer than cash due to scanning and confirmation waitsUnreviewed
20152026- Unclear whether you are scanning or being scanned, adding friction to every payment2026-09-10
- Slow to pay: scanning and waiting for payment confirmation takes far longer than cash2017-05-29
- Paying by phone takes many taps and scans, slowing queues compared with cash2016-03-31
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 35 complaints
- Unclear whether you are scanning or being scanned, adding friction to every payment2026-09-10
- Interface described as a mess, hard to navigate for the user2026-07-21
- Web-based mini apps inside WeChat are slow to use2025-04-09
- Signing up for an account is nearly impossible for the person trying2025-03-09
- No cloud backup, so chat history is lost if the old phone dies2024-10-17
- Paying requires opening an app, clicking a button, scanning a QR code, and typing information2024-07-17
- Can't see comments from friends-of-friends, making threads confusing to follow2022-10-28
- Transcription runs in real time, so a 1-minute voice message takes 1 minute2022-06-14
- Tourists who don't speak Chinese can't realistically set up payments, needing a Chinese bank account and phone number2022-02-23
- No easy way to export all content stored inside WeChat2021-04-26
- Creating or reactivating an account requires another user to scan a QR code2020-09-18
- Interface seems jumbled and unintuitive to a newcomer2020-08-05
- Swipe-up back gesture and launcher are hard to use and confusing2020-05-26
- Moving all messages to a new phone is a painful ordeal2020-04-17
- Can't use WeChat from a desktop without installing a native app, forcing phone use2020-04-09
- Censored images look sent successfully but recipient never receives them2019-07-23
- Taxi search sits spinning for minutes and never finds a cab2019-06-13
- Only one device can be signed in at a time, forcing multiple accounts to keep conversations across devices2019-06-08
- Web login fails with a security error that gives no steps to get verified2019-01-18
- Chinese dialog options appear after actions taken in English interface2018-10-09
- Introduction length limit is too short for English text, forcing very concise writing2018-10-08
- Documentation directs international developers to a Chinese-language UI2018-10-08
- Self picture-in-picture view renders incorrectly in the Windows desktop app2017-09-26
- Repeatedly asks for permissions at every launch and shows popups over the mic icon to force access2017-08-27
- Random logouts and QR code login make third-party clients painful to use2017-08-24
- Payer must open WeChat, scan, enter amount, and show payment, unlike a simple tap2017-07-17
- Slow to pay: scanning and waiting for payment confirmation takes far longer than cash2017-05-29
- Built-in browser behaves oddly and is hard to debug compared to mainstream browsers2017-04-13
- App is slow and photo uploads consistently fail2017-01-20
- Developer onboarding needs Chinese ID, company, ICP license, and documentation is confusing and English-less2016-10-03
- QR code login fails with error, and desktop client cannot show messages received while computer is off2016-10-03
- Photo zooming and scrolling is broken, and large media often fails to load2016-10-03
- Paying by phone takes many taps and scans, slowing queues compared with cash2016-03-31
- Takes a while to get used to scanning QR codes several times a day2016-03-23
- Can't use one account across several devices, forcing awkward workarounds like emulators and separate accounts2015-11-27