Why Discord Is Blocked In China (And What They Use Instead)

The Golden Shield Project, often referred to as the Great Firewall of China, was established in 1998 by China's Ministry of Public Security in order to control and censor content deemed harmful to the government's interests. In practice, this means that people in China do not have free and unrestricted access to the internet. Instead, the government effectively determines what they are allowed to see.

As a result of these policies, many websites and apps that most people use are banned in China. One example is Discord, a platform that is widely used globally for real-time communication, particularly in the gaming community. As of 2023, the platform had around 200 million active monthly users. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are not an option for Chinese citizens either, since their use is heavily restricted, so they have no choice but to use government-approved alternatives to websites and apps popular around the world. 

When it comes to the VoIP service, Chinese citizens have to look for a Discord alternative. KOOK is perhaps the closest equivalent available in China — even the design and layout are similar. From what we were able to gather online, the app functions almost exactly like Discord, with support for voice, text, and video chat. Interestingly, KOOK is considered to be the successor to an app called Kaiheila, which was previously regarded as a leading Discord alternative in the Chinese market. Then there's also WeChat, China's super app.

Unlike KOOK, WeChat does have a presence in the west, so it's an app many might be familiar with. It is massively popular in China, with over 800 million users, per World Population Review. It's also popular in Malaysia, India, Japan, South Korea, and a number of other Asian countries. In the United States, it's estimated to have around four million users.

WeChat is sometimes referred to as a "super app" because it has a plethora of features that extend beyond messaging, video, and audio calls. It's a collaboration tool, a payment service, an e-commerce platform, a ride-hailing app like Uber, a food delivery app, and much more. And because it is so ubiquitous in China, it would also be fair to describe it as one of the main Chinese alternatives to Discord.

As of this publication, WeChat is available on both Google Play and the App Store, though there were talks of banning it in the U.S. for national security reasons. That could change at any given moment, especially since the Supreme Court upheld the law mandating TikTok's divestment or ban earlier this year.