Are you an independent online ESL teacher looking to find Chinese students on social media? An absolutely essential app for communicating with Chinese ESL students is WeChat. It is used by over 80% of Chinese adults every day, replacing email and text messaging – so is a must-have app for day-to-day messaging.
However, a major challenge many independent online ESL teachers face when setting up their WeChat account is the need to find a friend to verify you. Due to past issues with spam bots, WeChat introduced this requirement a few years back. Essentially, you need to find a real-life friend to scan the QR code on your WeChat app, thus confirming that you are a real person. However, this can be very challenging if you are an independent online ESL teacher and don’t know any in-person friends with WeChat.
Watch the video…
What are the requirements to verify your WeChat account?
The person verifying your WeChat account must meet the following requirements:
Chinese users
- Have had WeChat for at least 6 months;
- Have not verified anyone else in the past month;
- Have not been blocked from WeChat due to breaking any rules;
- Have activated WeChat pay (linked a bank card and completed ID verification).
Non-Chinese users
- Have had WeChat for at least 1 month;
- Have not verified anyone else in the past month;
- Have not been blocked from WeChat due to breaking any rules.
Additionally, sometimes users have non-officially reported issues with verification if they have verified more than 6 people in the past year, or if they are physically located in a different location to the user being verified.
How can I verify my WeChat account? Five strategies…
Let’s outline five different options you can take to verify your WeChat account, in order of recommendation…
1: Ask friends and family
This is the approach WeChat wants you to take. Ask around your friends and family, asking if anyone you know personally has WeChat. In particular, consider anyone you know who has visited China previously, worked with Chinese businesses or has Chinese friends.
They simply need to scan the QR code on your screen using the “scan” feature within their WeChat app.
2: Ask your local Chinese community
The vast majority of Chinese expats will also be using WeChat to communicate with family back in China. Ask in your local Asian supermarket, Chinese takeaway, etc. Does your local college, university or community centre offer Chinese classes or cultural activities? Join in and ask for some help!
3: Ask your Chinese students
If you already teach Chinese students, whether that’s independently or through a company, simply ask them in class.
Hold up your QR code on your phone to your webcam, and ask your student to open WeChat, click on “scan” and scan the code through the video call.
4: Find someone on Facebook
There are many Facebook groups for online ESL teachers or Chinese social media platforms, where you can ask for help. Our facebook group has a monthly WeChat verification thread where you can connect with a fellow teacher to approve your account.
Once you’ve found someone, the easiest approach is to jump on a Zoom call and show them your QR code over the camera to scan live. Alternatively, take a screenshot of your QR code and send it to them via messenger. They then need to open it on their computer and scan with their phone. Make sure you keep your own WeChat app open on the verification screen throughout this process. Note also that if you post the QR code in a Facebook group or chat, it expires within five minutes so first check that they are ready to scan.
5: Pay someone on Upwork
If all else fails, there are people on websites such as Upwork who will verify your account, for a small fee. Be careful and always check reviews. Never buy a pre-verified account, as that could put you in a lot of trouble.
I hope that helped give you some ideas to get your WeChat account verified! Want to learn more about how to use WeChat to connect with and convert students? Join our WeChat marketing course!
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I don’t have any friends to scan my QR code 😔
This article is clickbait. There’s no easy free method contained within it.
I guess it depends on your definition of “easy” – but four of the methods above are 100% free and can be done in just a few minutes…