7 November

If you use WeChat outside mainland China with a phone number that does not carry the +86 dialling code, then under WeChat's privacy policy (updated on 6 August 2026, checked on 3 November) your personal information is stored on servers in Singapore and Malaysia, or in Hong Kong for users in Hong Kong and Macao, with WeChat International as the data controller for users outside the EEA, the UK, Switzerland and mainland China. Under the same policy, your data may in limited cases be accessed remotely from mainland China for technical support, and information from your interactions with Weixin users (Tencent classes accounts registered with +86 numbers as Weixin) is shared with Weixin, which processes it in mainland China to the extent necessary. On 7 November 2016, the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress passed the Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China, which requires operators of critical information infrastructure (systems in key sectors such as communications, energy and finance, with the scope set separately by the State Council) to store personal information and important data collected and generated in China inside the country, subject to a security assessment where a transfer abroad is genuinely necessary; the amendment in force since 1 January 2026 left this requirement unchanged. In its Weixin privacy guidelines for +86 accounts, in effect since 17 August, Tencent writes that personal information collected in China is in principle stored in China as laws and regulations require, without naming which ones, while the WeChat privacy policy contains no explanation of how its storage arrangements relate to Chinese law. To see what WeChat holds about you, go to "Me" > "Settings" > "My Information & Authorizations" and select "Export Personal Data" (the policy lists only the English menu names), and the export covers categories including account data, contacts, Moments, favourites, and location and login data.