(Yicai Global) July 12 -- WeChat, Tencent Holdings’ hugely popular instant messaging app, will not introduce the read receipts function that allows users to see whether a recipient has viewed a message or not, according to Tencent’s public relations chief.

The function would likely increase the mental strain and social pressure on message recipients, so WeChat has no plan to include it in the app, Zhang Jun said today on China’s Twitter-like microblogging site Weibo. His post attracted more than 400 million views.

“We don’t reply just because we don’t want to,” a social media user posted in support of WeChat's decision not to introduce the read receipt function. “It would be a little embarrassing if your boss assigns you a task at night and he sees that you have ignored it,” another person said.

“WeChat values our users' privacy,” its English language Help Center says. “In an effort to ensure maximum privacy, we do not provide read receipts or any way to see whether or not your message has been read.”

First released in 2011, WeChat, or Weixin in Chinese, is a so-called super app that offers a wide range of features other than messaging such as social networking and digital payments.

Editor: Futura Costaglione