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How to register for a WeChat/Xiaohongshu/Douyin/ Weibo account

Sign-up for a WeChat account

WeChat is a popular messaging app launched by Shenzhen-based Tencent and now has over a billion active users. The app is straightforward to use, and that’s probably what WeChat users like about it. However, WeChat’s signup process can be complicated, especially if you’re not in China.

When you install the WeChat app on your device, you’ll first need to sign up with a valid mobile phone number. Not only that, you’ll also need an existing WeChat user to verify your account. Let’s talk about how you can create WeChat account on a device you’ve never used it on before.

Download and install WeChat

Download and install WeChat on your device from the Play store or the App store. Search for WeChat in the store, find it in the search results and click the “install” button (or the “get” button if you use iOS).

Select “Sign Up” and insert your details

After installing WeChat, launch the app and click the “sign up” button. On the next screen, insert your details: your name, region, phone number and a password. You can enter a fake name, but you’ll need to enter a correct phone number for WeChat verification. Also, note that you can create only one WeChat account with one phone number.

Agree to terms of service

Once you’ve entered all the details, check the box next to “agree to terms of service” and click on “sign up.”

Verify WeChat account

Next, you’ll need to verify your WeChat account. This is where you can complete the security verification process. The first part is just like a CAPTCHA, where you’ll need to drag a puzzle piece to the other side of the screen. However, the second part (friend verification) is a little tricky because you may not have any WeChat friends, especially if you’re not in China.

Please note that you may need to invite another WeChat or Weixin user to assist you with registration by scanning the QR code.

However, it is not advisable to share the QR code on public websites. Either, you may choose to verify your request by verifying a bank card or activating Weixin Pay when it is offered.

A WeChat account must be verified by an existing WeChat user. However, to be able to verify your account, the WeChat user must meet certain conditions. The user must have:

1 Signed up to WeChat more than six months ago

2 Activated WeChat Pay — a mobile payment app developed by WeChat (if the friend is in China)

3 Not verified another WeChat user in the past month (a user can verify a maximum of three accounts per year)

4 Not been blocked in the past month

Note that WeChat might decline activating your account even if all conditions are met. To maximize your chances of approval, see if you can find a friend based in the Chinese mainland to verify your account. Finding a Chinese mainland user might be hard for an international user, but it helps. Once you do find someone, you’ll need to provide them with your QR code so they can verify you.

How to register for a Xiaohongshu account from overseas

Xiaohongshu, literally translated into “Little Red Book,” is a lifestyle-sharing social media platform and e-commerce platform in China. Xiaohongshu has high engagement and high-quality contents, making it go viral in China.

One of the biggest developments in Chinese social media for tourism since the COVID pandemic is the rise of Xiaohongshu. It’s now used by 80% of travelers to look for tips before their trips, and Dragon Trail Research found that travelers are even more likely to use Xiaohongshu to look for information on outbound travel than they are to search on Ctrip.

Xiaohongshu is available for foreigners and the UI language of Xiaohongshu supports English. Xiaohongshu has many account types, like individual standard account, individual Pro account, business Pro account, and Ads publish account, etc.

No matter what kind of account type, you all need to register a Xiaohongshu standard account. And upgrade standard account to other accounts.

If you want to be a social media influencer, you may need an individual Pro account. If you are a foreign company, you may need a business Pro account.

Getting a personal account on Xiaohongshu is easy, and you can follow our tips below.

Download Xiaohongshu app

You can download the Xiaohongshu app from the Google Play Store or Apple store. Or scan the QR code from Xiaohongshu.com.

Sign up Xiaohongshu with phone number

1 Click on “Other Login Methods”and then, tap the phone icon.

2 Enter your phone number info and click on “Get code”.

3 Type the SMS code.

4 Check the privacy policy box and click on “Login”

5 Select the topics you are interested in.

NOTE: Don’t forget to set a password for Xiaohongshu account

The reason why we show you the phone number way first, that’s because if you want to get full access to Xiaohongshu you need to enter your phone number anyway (That’s all Chinese social media requires). If you don’t want it in this way, try to login to Xiaohongshu with WeChat, QQ or Weibo account. If you don’t have any one of them, you should consider creating WeChat, Weibo, and QQ accounts so that you can explore/use almost all Chinese social media with them.

Sign up/Login Xiaohongshu with WeChat/QQ/Weibo

You can see there is a WeChat t/ QQ/ Weibo icon below, tap that and confirm Xiaohongshu login with WeChat t/ QQ/ Weibo.

As for signing up/ login with Weibo or QQ account, you need to tap “Other Login Methods.” And then you will see the Weibo and QQ icons. Tap the icons you need and confirm them.

NOTE: Before you use those ways, you need to make sure you’ve logged in to WeChat, Weibo or QQ on your phone. And You will require phone number to access to Xiaohongshu’s full features anyway.

Set a password for Xiaohongshu account

Setting a password for your social media will secure your account and be helpful to retrieve your account when your account has issues. Especially for foreign users.

How to get Douyin on iOS and Android

If you don’t know how exactly Douyin works, think about TikTok. TikTok is a popular platform that allows its users to post short video clips and to create a fan base for themselves. Soon after its launch, TikTok became extremely popular all over the world. Douyin, one of the biggest marketing channels in China,is indeed the Chinese version of TikTok. Douyin is the official version of the TikTok app in China.

For brands targeting Chinese consumers, presence on Douyin means exposure to millions every single day. Massively popular among younger generations, creating a Douyin account is a great opportunity for advertising for foreign brands.

Users can easily install Douyin app on their Android or iOS phonesand Douyin’s interface is pretty similar to TikTok. Thus, you can just as easily share and watch videos on this platform. The only difference between the official TikTok app and Douyin is the wallet feature. With Douyin, you can also make transactions to purchase anything.

Signing up an account on Douyin for IOS users

To download Douyin app, first of all, go ahead to your Apple ID. Select media & purchases and click. Now tap on view account.

From there, select the region/country setting.

Now select China mainland and go ahead and agree with the terms and conditions.

Almost there. As you agree with the terms and conditions, you will be asked to choose your payment method. If you do not have an access to a China-based payment method (which requires a Chinese phone number) just choose ‘none’ as shown in the photo. Complete the form by filling in your details.

Now that you have changed your region settings, it is time to download Douyin app from the Apple app store.

When the app download is completed, click to open it, and to sign up follow the same steps explained above for the Android phone version. It is the same process.

Signing up an account on Douyin for Android users

Users who are not located in China will not be possible to start the process through Google play. But there is a solution.

1 Go type douyin.com on your browser and open the official Douyin app website. From there you will find the download section.

Douyin short-videos official page

2 Tap on the android option. On the pop-up window click on the download Douyin selection. Continue with clicking the OK selection on the new pop-up window when you get a warning if you want to keep the file or not.

3 Now tap “open” to start installing the app.

4 You cannot download files from Google unless you approve. Therefore, click “Settings” at the security and turn on the switch for “Allow from this source.”

5 Now that you approved the installation, go to the file manager and finish the installation process.

6 Your app is ready, go ahead and find it on your home screen and open it up.

7 Time to sign up for your account:

First tap ok on the terms and conditions

Now look on the right bottom of the page, you will have to click on ‘me’ which looks like this in the Chinese characters 我

You will be asked for your mobile phone. Type it in correctly adding your country code.

With the pink colored select button, you will click on “send code” looking like this: 获取短信验证码–Now you will need to do the security puzzle

After that check on your mobile for the code and enter it correctly.

The next step is to sign in! You are all set.

How to have a verified account on the Douyin app?

Now that you have an account with Douyin, it would be beneficial as a brand to go through the verification process. Doing so will change your common account into an official one giving you advantages such as a verification tick to your brand’s label for increased credibility, receiving analytics, and the possibility to market products while live streaming (available only to native Douyin stores, so it’s crucial to open a Douyin Store as well).

To start the verification process, personal accounts must have at least one video shared, a linked mobile phone number, and a minimum of ten thousand followers.

For business account verification, businesses need to provide a Chinese business ICP license. This type of account also requires a yearly fee payment and access to Chinese phone numbers.

Douyin account verification:

1 On your browser type and search the official Douyin home page

2 As shown in the image below, click on the button to apply for verification

3 On the pop-up page comes a QR code, simply scan the code. Now you will be asked to fill in the verification form.

You will get a verification code. Later, a Douyin representative will reach out to you within a week of submitting the verification form. This contact is either to ask for more information or to outright approve your verification.

How to get a Weibo account from overseas

Launched in 2009, Weibo is one of China’s earliest and most important social media. A microblogging platform, Weibo combines social interaction, content aggregation, and content dissemination. It’s a public space where topics can go viral, with huge followings for celebrity-related topics especially. With its database based on users’ social relationships, interests, and behaviors, marketers can also use Weibo to precisely target audiences to achieve efficient results.

Signing up for a Weibo account from overseas is relatively easy, and the app offers English-language interface. Follow these five steps to start using Weibo now!

Step 1

Download and install Weibo on the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Note: We strongly recommend using the app to register, rather than the online registration via Weibo’s website, as the website registration is prone to glitches that prevent users without Chinese phone numbers from being able to register successfully.

It is common to receive error messages like this one when registering for a Weibo account through the Weibo website using an overseas phone number. Another common issue is when the verification code has been successfully requested but does not arrive. Users can try again on a different day to potentially get better results, but registering though the Weibo app instead is a much smoother process.

Step 2

Tap to sign up via your phone number or a WeChat/Apple account. We recommend to use your phone number.

Step 3

Select your region, enter your phone number and check the agreements.

Step 4

Agree with the privacy policy.

Step 5

Enter the Verification code received by SMS, then hit “Confirm”.

Congratulations, you have your personal Weibo account now!