Why Tencent Demanded Duoshan Remove Your WeChat Avatar: A Data Privacy Showdown

ByteDance's video social app Duoshan recently displayed a popup telling users that, due to a strong request from Tencent, they must change their avatar or nickname on Duoshan or on WeChat/QQ if the two are identical.

This effectively forces users to choose between keeping the same avatar/nickname on WeChat/QQ or on Duoshan.

Tencent filed an injunction demanding that Duoshan immediately stop using WeChat/QQ user data such as avatars and nicknames.

According to the article, Douyin (TikTok) had authorized user data to Tencent but not to Duoshan; however, Douyin still synchronized users' WeChat/QQ avatars and nicknames to Duoshan, which is a separate corporate entity and thus lacked Tencent's permission.

Duoshan's push notification framed the issue as Tencent owning the avatars, shifting user attention and angering them, while Tencent's terms actually state that user‑uploaded data remains the user's intellectual property.

The PR move caused a spike in Duoshan's daily active users, as many curious users opened the app.

On March 20, the Tianjin Binhai New Area People's Court issued a provisional ruling ordering Douyin to cease providing WeChat/QQ login services to Duoshan and mandating Duoshan to stop using the previously obtained WeChat/QQ avatars and nicknames.

Lawyer Cai Huiming explained that this ruling is a temporary injunction, not the final judgment, and that the case's substantive outcome remains undecided.

The article concludes that the ongoing “head vs. Tencent” battle over user data highlights the need for stronger regulation of apps that skirt privacy rules, with users ultimately bearing the consequences.