How unwitting users of WeChat aid the Chinese messaging app’s blacklisting of sensitive images

WeChat uses censorship mechanisms to screen images sent between users in one-to-one and group chats, according to the University of Toronto

Chinese messaging app WeChat relies on the input of unwitting users to autonomously expand its blacklist of sensitive images, according to a new study by a Canadian Internet watchdog group.

Research released on July 15 by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab focused on how WeChat, owned by Internet tech giant Tencent and boasting an active monthly user base of more than 1 billion people, uses a number of censorship mechanisms to screen picture files sent between users in one-to-one and group chats.