WeChat opens API to connect official accounts and mobile apps

WeChat is moving another step forward in terms of openness with community by launching an API to connect mobile apps and their WeChat official accounts today.

With this API, developers can add an entry point into their mobile apps to redirect the users to connected WeChat official accounts. The users will enter the chat interface if they are already followers of the official account, otherwise, they will be redirected to the account profile page.

Developers can bound their apps with any official account that is under their WeChat open platform accounts. This feature is only available for WeChat 5.3 version or above.

Thanks to the IM features of WeChat, official accounts will become a premium channel for app developers to interact and get feedback from their users. In addition, developers can push news via their official accounts, a less bothersome way to send information to the users as compared with pushing through mobile apps.

The seamless connection between mobile apps and corresponding official accounts will also help WeChat to attract more users for its other services of payment, voice recognition, and more.

This story originally appeared on TechNode. Copyright 2014