WeChat ban in US cuts off users’ link to families and friends in China

US President Donald Trump’s ban on transactions using popular Chinese messaging app WeChat will cut the ties of millions of users in the United States to families and friends in China, it is feared, as they become the latest casualties in the standoff between the two nations.

WeChat, owned by Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, is popular among Chinese students, expats and some Americans who have personal or business relationships in China. Most popular messaging apps in the United States, including Facebook Messenger , Whatsapp and Telegram have been blocked in China.

“I came to the US for free access to information. I feel I’m targeted by Trump,” said Tingru Nan, a Chinese graduate student at the University of Delaware. “I’m living in constant fear now thinking I might get disconnected with friends and families.”