Why WeChat and Chinese Banks Blocked ByteDance’s Doubao AI on the Nubia Phone
ByteDance teamed up with ZTE to preload its Doubao AI agent on the Nubia M153 phone. The agent acts like a full phone operator—it sees the screen, opens apps, taps buttons, books tickets, and handles tasks across apps. But right away, big apps pushed back hard.
The Blocks Hit Fast
WeChat, China’s top app from Tencent with 1.4 billion users, suspended accounts of people who let Doubao access it. Users on Chinese social media reported the suspensions after trying voice commands through Doubao to use WeChat. WIRED and South China Morning Post covered how ByteDance quickly disabled Doubao’s WeChat access and promised to restore those accounts.
Banking apps joined in. Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank logged users out or showed warnings when Doubao tried automated tasks. Longbridge and OpenTools.ai noted these blocks target the AI’s high-level permissions for operations that feel too invasive.
Other apps joined the pushback too. Alipay and Taobao blocked Doubao as well. Editorialge detailed these restrictions.
Security and Privacy Spark the Fight
The main issue? Doubao runs at the operating system level on a customized Android. It doesn’t just trigger actions—it visually scans the screen and mimics human moves without always needing step-by-step okay from you. India Today explained how demos went viral, but fears exploded over the AI grabbing personal data, messages, or payments unchecked.
- Full screen visibility means it sees everything on display.
- Direct OS control skips app APIs, dodging normal limits.
- Automated tasks across apps raise risks of unauthorized actions.
ByteDance dialed it back fast, limiting access until better safeguards land. Apps like WeChat say their rules caught the issues, not new moves.
Competition Plays a Role Too
Huawei and Xiaomi build their own AI agents and don’t want outsiders like Doubao taking over. WIRED points out ByteDance talked to other makers, but majors stick to in-house tech. Tencent vs. ByteDance feuds aren’t new—this feels like another round over data control.
The Nubia M153 sells for about 3599 RMB (around $500 USD), but the blocks show how Chinese tech guards its turf amid the AI push.
