WeChat has begun tests on a new Miniapp feature that allows users to open apps within WeChat itself. Invitations were sent to developers earlier this month to develop a “lightweight” app, with a message saying that WeChat owners Tencent were offering recipients the chance to create small apps that would deliver “outstanding user experience”. Tencent hopes that the new feature will get rid of the need for users to download apps for just one use, or have to balance phone memory. WeChat's creator, Zhang Xiaolong, said that the apps can be used without a download and can be opened by “searching or scanning them, which accommodates a 'delete after use' habit”. However, there are fears that the idea will have an adverse effect on app usage, with Billy Chan, from Foowala in Shanghai, saying that “the app-within-an-app concept will affect overall performance”.Â
