On August 6, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning any US individual or business from trading with WeChat and its Chinese parent company Tencent after 45 days, which means that WeChat is about to lose the US market.
On August 7, Tencent made an announcement that it was reviewing the potential consequences of the executive order to fully understand its impact, and would make further announcements in due course.
WeChat offers a range of services in China, such as ride-sharing and mobile payments, but the software's flagship service is a messaging platform.
Compared to China, WeChat's overall impact in the US is small, but for international students and Chinese living in the US, it is believed that it will be difficult to get used to life without WeChat in a short period of time.
Some believe that Trump could use his presidential powers to demand that Apple and Google remove WeChat worldwide. Once the ban goes into effect, both Tencent and Apple will be greatly affected. Many people will have to choose between iPhone and WeChat at that point.
The impact on Google will be minor, as Android phones have other ways to download WeChat.