this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2023
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I was under impression that Google Play and Apple App Store don't allow apps that can do practically everything (super apps). Is it really allowed? If a completely new company submit a chat app that somehow includes taxy hailing, food delivery, nfc/qr wallet and micro-loan features all at once instead of adding those features gradually in future updates, would Apple and Google accept the app?
WeChat and other composite apps are already on the stores, so I don’t see why others also wouldn’t be allowed.
And Grab.
But outside China, WeChat is only a messaging app, right? The super app aspect is only available for China domestic users with a WeChat version distributed outside Play Store? Other notable super apps (Tata Neu, Grab, Gojek, etc) are also seemingly only operates in Asia. Or is there any US/EU-based super apps out there? Is the lack of western super apps caused by regulation, app store rules, or something else entirely?
I’ve seen wechat pay and other features used throughout Asia, though to a much lesser degree than localized services. That is to say, it’s still a “super-app” in all markets. Which services are supported in each market is up to the real-world marketplace, not necessarily the Google Play or App Store. As far as I know, the international version of wechat still has most of the same capabilities (and privacy concerns thereof) that the domestic China Weixin app has.
It’s a good question why western super apps haven’t taken off yet, and I feel like most users prefer fractured services until now. For example, Facebook had marketplace and messenger as part of its main service for years. Then, it decided to fracture them off into separate apps/services.