Line is based in Japan and is one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 178 million active users.
You can not only send free texts but also do voice and video calls on the platform. Along with that, Line could also be used as a social media platform.
But is the Line app safe to use? Many people have asked this question on various forums.
In this article, we’ll deal with this question in detail.
Is Line safe to use?
We will take a look at the privacy policy and features of Line to assess the safety of the platform further.
Privacy policy of Line
Line collects data in the following ways:
- Data provided by you.
- Data related to their services.
- Data collected from third parties.
Following is an example of the data that you provide when you use Line:
- Phone number and email.
- Identity verification documents.
- Profile information, including your status, icon image, status message etc.
- Address book.
Other than that, Line collects location information and information about browsers, devices and apps.
Regarding the data collected from third parties, Line collects information such as access history, URL information, data in the public sphere, and web app data.
As per Line, they take strict security measures to protect your data. The data is stored in Japan, the United States and South Korea servers. The company follows strict access control, external authentication and 27/7 monitoring.
Line has the following policy regarding the use of your data:
“We will not in any way use highly private information such as texts, images, videos and audio data sent in a talk room between users for any purpose other than the distribution of messages (including retransmission in the event of a communication failure or synchronization of messages from multiple devices) unless we have obtained your consent or such use is permitted by Applicable Laws. While we will retain the foregoing information for a minimum period, such information will subsequently be automatically deleted from our server.”
-Line’s Privacy Policy
The privacy policy is more or less the same as other platforms. Users must remember that Line takes no guarantee that your data is protected, as evident by the following statement:
“Because no method of electronic transmission or method of data storage is perfect or impenetrable, we cannot guarantee that your Personal Data will be absolutely safe from intrusion during transmission or while stored in our systems.”
Features of Line
Line offers Letter Sealing feature, which is just another name for end-to-end message encryption.
Here are the following bits of data that will be encrypted:
- Text messages.
- Your location information.
- Voice/video calls.
For newer versions of the Line app, this feature is turned on by default. However, if you are using the older versions of Line, update the app ASAP. Or, follow the steps given below to turn on the feature manually:
- Head to Home > Settings > Privacy.
- Tap On next to Letter Sealing.
In the next section, we will deal with some security precautions you should take while using messaging apps like Line.
Also read: How to know a website is safe?
How to protect yourself while using messaging apps?
Follow these instructions to protect your privacy and security online:
- Activate end-to-end encryption on all messaging platforms if not activated by default.
- Have a comprehensive review of the privacy settings of the Line app or other apps you use.
- Deploy a strong password for all your social media accounts.
- Enable two-factor authentication.
- Do not click on any suspicious link in an email or chat.
- Do not disclose your personal information like your email, home address or phone number on social media platforms or while talking with some stranger on the internet.
Also read: Is the Shop app safe?