How QQ Evolved Over 20 Years: A Deep Dive into Its Feature Roadmap

Author BLUES (Lan Jun), a veteran product manager with experience at Tencent and YY Voice, shares a detailed retrospective of QQ’s product evolution.

He wishes readers a Happy New Year and reflects on the 20‑year history of QQ, the iconic Chinese instant‑messaging service.

QQ’s monthly active user (MAU) chart shows a peak of 890 million in Q2 2016, while WeChat surpassed 1 billion MAU in Q1 2017, indicating a shift in user communication preferences.

The simultaneous‑online chart shows QQ reaching 310 million concurrent users, a figure only matched by WeChat in China.

Product Milestones

1999 – OICQ99

Features: Chinese network pager, public chatroom, file transfer, voice chat.

2000 – OICQ2000 / QQ2000

Introduced TencentExplorer, invisible mode, mobile OICQ, renamed to QQ, added video chat, QQ groups, QQshow.

2003 – QQ2003

Chat scene, screen capture, video playback for friends, QQ ring tones.

2004 – QQ2004

Personal network drive, remote assistance, QQ Mini‑Secretary.

2005 – QQ2005

QQ Pets, Qzone, address book, QQ Music.

2006 – QQ2006

Theme packs, QQ Video Show, 3D chat mode.

2007 – QQ2007

Offline file sending for members, window shake.

2008 – QQ2008

Super groups supporting up to 500 members.

2009 – QQ2009

Friend dynamics, message box, friend impressions.

2010 – QQ2010

New skin engine, large video, multi‑question verification.

2011 – QQ2011

Skin editor, app box, SMS, colorful fonts, custom tags.

2012 – QQ2012

New UI, revamped skin settings, merged chat windows, top‑pinned chats, new emojis, enhanced multi‑person video.

2013 – QQ2013

New skin engine, richer profile cards, chat function updates, group video show, media playback in groups.

2014 – QQ2014

New visual design, thinner UI, integrated chat window, web page collector, screenshot mosaic, document sharing.

2015 – QQ2015

Cross‑device collection, one‑click photo export, colorful bubbles, cloud messaging.

2016 – QQ2016

File manager can delete offline files.

Temporary sessions support offline file transfer.

Reduced image size limits in groups.

Group UI overhaul with image‑cover announcements.

New space and app tabs in group chat.

Improved group video with larger independent window.

Group video management for admin permissions.

Weibo panel image viewing and commenting.

Android device connection reminders.

2017 – QQ2017

Enhanced document presentation formats.

Remote meeting support.

Laser pen, drawing board in presentations.

Classroom ad‑filtering.

QQ Highlights content recommendation.

Admins can revoke member messages.

New minimalist visual style.

Adjustable message list.

GIF hot‑image recommendations.

Fun video calls with dynamic stickers.

2018 – QQ2018

Features include anonymous group chat, audio‑video indicators, categorized “My Collections”, seamless phone‑PC integration, Outlook integration, remote document demo, screenshot mosaic, and more, all centered on the core theme of communication.

Blues emphasizes that product managers can improve their skills by continuously using, reflecting on, and dissecting products like QQ, tracking each version’s features, hypothesizing design decisions, and comparing with actual releases.