June 13th, Internet security software provider Qihoo 360 and social networking site Renren jointly announced their strategic partnership, involving Internet security and open platform cooperation in China. 360 and Renren will gradually integrate their user accounts, and Renren’s WebApps will all be added to the desktop software by 360.
Qihoo 360 and Renren started their cooperation since the end of last year, when they launched a Renren spcecial version of Qihoo 360 security browser and a 360 edition Renren desktop. The new partnership significantly expands the scope of cooperation. Based on the cooperation of the browser and the clients, the two parties will further develop their cooperation of 360 security desktop and other security products.
360 will gradually consolidate their user accounts with Renren, in order to reduce the duplicate registration trouble for users. All Renren WebApps will also be added to 360 desktop, such as Renren Reminder, Renren Radio Station, Renren Games. Apart from that, Qihoo 360 has already added a new function called Renren.com One Click to Share, which allows users to share content on Renren while browsing with one click even without logging in. In the future, 360 plans to add a “one-key reminder” feature to its browser, which enables users check their Renren messages when they open 360 browser.
The cooperation between Qihoo 360 and Renren.com is believed to be arising to the challenge from Tencent, after Tencent declared its open platform strategy in December 2010.