• What is this consent page?

LINE asks for your consent to our use of your information to improve our services, etc. and to update our Privacy Policy. These updates will help provide better service to our users.

 

• Is my consent necessary?

It is necessary for all users to consent to the Privacy Policy as it states the ways in which we handle information for LINE services.

The consent you provide for using your information is optional and can be changed at any time via the privacy settings in the LINE App.

 

• What changes will occur when using the services after consenting to "Regarding Usage of Your Information"?

The major purpose of obtaining your consent at this time is to help our long-term effort to improve the services that we provide. Please note that your information will not be publicly released on our services and that you will not receive a large amount of unwanted messages or spam as a result of your consent. Furthermore, the notification message feature described below will be provided only after you give consent to such terms.

 

• How exactly will the services be improved, etc.?

Specifically, we are looking to improve our services, etc. in the following ways:

 

■ Prevention of Abuse and Other Fraudulent Uses of Services

We plan to conduct analysis in order to prevent the abuse or other fraudulent use of services, such as users clicking on unauthorized URLs within our services or other actions that can lead to the theft of a LINE account.

 

■ Improvement, Research, and Development of Our Services

We plan to use the information provided as learning data for machine learning and deep learning so as to improve the functionality or quality of our various services.

This information will be continuously used to improve our services and support further research and development. This may include analyzing anonymous text data from posts on LINE VOOM to improve the functionality of the services that we provide or reviewing screen layouts and designs in pursuit of improving user-friendliness.

 

■ Display of Personalized Content and Advertisements of Interest to Users

By consenting, it may be possible to show advertisements of more interest to each user by appropriately obtaining information and categories that are of interest to such user. We may also recommend stickers and services based on the usage patterns of users with similar interests.

 

Please note that the purposes mentioned above are the same as those originally made available to the users in the Privacy Policy from the time when the LINE service was first launched. However, we have determined that the information to be used for this occasion is deeply connected with privacy and we therefore ask for your consent in order to maintain transparency in our handling of information and to honor our respect of users' rights.

 

• What kind of information will be used if I consent to Regarding Usage of Your Information?

The details of the information we will be using are listed below.

 

■ Chat Information

Chats are where users send and receive contents, such as messages, within the LINE App. LINE accounts include accounts created by users in the LINE App as well as LINE official accounts, LINE Business Connect accounts, Customer Connect-specific accounts, LINE@ accounts, and other accounts (collectively referred to as “Official Accounts” on the consent screen and in this page) used by companies and other corporate entities for business-related activities.

 

■ Chats with Official Accounts

Any and all communication including information on the substance of the content and format in chats between users and Official Accounts may be used.

This includes the following types of information:

 

● Content Examples (*1, *2)

- Text messages (words and phrases such as “Good morning”)

- Photos and videos (includes metadata such as the camera settings and time and date when the photo or video was taken)

- Contents of location info messages (messages containing information regarding your current location and/or intended destination)

- Contents entered when using in-chat features (such as scheduling features and polls)

- Stickers and emoji used (including emoji sent as part of a text message)

 

● Format Information

- Data format (information indicating whether the content sent is a text message, photo, video, or other format)

- Information on whether or not the content sent has been read

- The sender and recipient of the content as well as the time and date it was sent and received

- The time and date the in-chat feature was used

 

*1. Content refers to data sent and received within the LINE App, including but not limited to text messages, photos, videos, stickers, emoji, and in-chat features such as scheduling features and polls. Additionally, this includes content that has been deleted by using the unsend feature.

 

*2. Content from Official Accounts which have been designated by us as possibly containing especially sensitive information will not be used. Such Official Accounts include, without limitation, those related to government and municipal offices, local governments and municipalities, political parties, financial entities, hospitals, and religious organizations.

 

■Chats between Users

In chats between users, the format information mentioned above as well as the stickers and emoji used will be used, but the content of the chat, such as text messages, photos, and videos will not be used.

 

■ Information in Free Calls

The LINE App enables users to make free calls (including video calls) with other users using the internet.

The contents of such calls made will not be obtained or otherwise used, but information regarding any special effects and filters used during video calls, as well as the caller and recipient, time, date, and duration of the call will be used.

 

■ LINE VOOM Information

The privacy settings of LINE VOOM posts can be selected by the user and the user may choose to (i) make a post public, (ii) only make a post available to certain people (semi-public), or (iii) only make a post available to him/herself.

If a post is only made available to the user (item (iii) above), information such as the time and date it was posted, stickers used within the comments column, the data format of the posted content, the time the posted content was viewed, and the number of times it was viewed (collectively referred to as “Peripheral Information”) will be used, but the content of the post will not be used.

For posts made available to the public or semi-public (items (i) and (ii) above) the content of the posts will be used in addition to the Peripheral Information.

 

■ Information Regarding the Use of Individual Features

The LINE App provides various features such as (i) the unsend feature which makes it possible to cancel contents that have already been sent, (ii) the Keep feature which allows for the storage of data, (iii) the albums feature which makes it possible to save and share photos, and (iv) a feature which allows for the sharing of user location info with other users.

Information on the time and date when these features were used, as well as the format of data handled within these features (such as the format of data saved using the Keep feature), will be used. Although the content of the data itself will not be used, information such as the data format and the time and date it was viewed will be used.

In the event that new features are added in the future, those features will also be subject to these terms.

 

■ Information Regarding Viewing of Web Sites

Information on URLs that the user has viewed or the source information (*3) for URLs accessed via the LINE App will be used.

For URL information accessed by using an external browser outside of the LINE App (such as Chrome or Safari), only the URL information linked within the LINE App will be used.

*3. This refers to information on which chat you linked from when accessing a website or other location via a URL.

 

• What is the notification message feature?

This feature enables users to receive useful notifications on LINE, such as scheduled delivery times and date and delay information of flights that users have booked directly from companies. By agreeing to use this feature, it will be possible for users to easily receive notification messages from companies without adding each account as a friend. Only such information determined by LINE as being of benefit to and appropriate for users will be sent and information for advertising purposes will not be sent.

Notification messages are sent only after matching the phone number or other information a user registers with LINE and the phone number or other information held by a company. The messages will not be sent by only using the information registered within the LINE App. Additionally, by using this feature to receive notifications, the user’s LINE internal identifier (a unique code within the LINE App assigned to each user) linked to a phone number or other information registered with LINE will be shared with the relevant company in order to facilitate communication between the company and the user. The usage settings for this feature can easily be changed at any time. If you do not wish to receive these notifications, simply block the company’s account or turn this feature off via the privacy settings in the LINE App.

 

• What is meant by “sharing with companies providing LINE-related services or our service providers and subcontractors”?

Companies providing LINE-related services refers to companies within our group (subsidiaries or other affiliated companies, as defined in the “Ordinance on the Terminology, Forms, and Preparation Methods of Financial Statements, etc.”) and our service providers and subcontractors are external companies contracted to provide certain services on our behalf.

Your information is only shared with these entities to the minimum extent required and will be within the scope of our responsibility.