LINE Privacy Policy
1.Introduction
We, LINE Corporation (“LINE,” “we,” “us,” or “our), believe your privacy is very important.
To fulfill our commitment to respecting and protecting your privacy, we will adhere to our basic principles as explained in detail below, and crafted this Privacy Policy in accordance with these basic principles:
1.We inform you of the personal information that will be collected, and seek your consent to collect, use, or disclose your personal information.
2.We identify the purposes of use for collecting your personal information.
3.We collect only information that is necessary to carry out the identified purposes of use.
4.We use or disclose your personal information only for the purposes for which it is collected, except with your consent or as required or permitted by law, and we will keep your information only as long as necessary to fulfill those purposes.
5.We endeavor to make sure that your personal information is accurate, complete, and up-to-date.
6.We protect your personal information by appropriate security safeguards.
7.We make our policies and practices for the handling of your personal information as transparent as possible.
8.You will have access to your personal information and will be able to correct your personal information as appropriate.
9.We will be accountable to you. We are always interested in hearing your opinion regarding our compliance with these principles, this Privacy Policy, and applicable law.
2.What This Privacy Policy Applies To
a.What Is This Privacy Policy?
This Privacy Policy explains how LINE will handle and safeguard your personal information, and the choices you have to access and control your personal information. This Privacy Policy applies to: personal information you provide us when you use the LINE Messenger app (“LINE App”), optional services made available within the LINE App, and other apps that integrate with or work in conjunction with the LINE App (collectively “Apps”); personal information you provide us when you visit websites maintained by us relating to our Apps (“Websites”) (Apps and Websites are collectively referred to as the “Service”); and personal information about you provided by users of the Service.
To make our Privacy Policy easier to understand, we may provide translations as a reference. A Spanish translation and a traditional Chinese translation are now available. However, in the event that a translation contradicts the English version of this Privacy Policy, the English version takes precedence, to the extent it is permitted under applicable law.
This Privacy Policy applies if you are using the Service from anywhere outside of Japan or Korea. If you are using the Service in Japan or Korea, please refer to our Japan Privacy Policy or Korea Privacy Policy respectively.
The current version of this Privacy Policy is accessible at our website: https://terms.line.me/line_rules/?lang=en
b.What Privacy Policy Applies to Other LINE Services?
Users may request additional services from LINE or LINE affiliates. Because the needs and choices of each user vary, we provide separate privacy policies or addendums to this Privacy Policy for certain additional services. The separate privacy policies and addendums explain the types of information we collect, their purposes of use, and other policies that may apply to that service. When you choose to use an additional service, you will be informed of the applicable privacy policy or addendum, which applies in addition to and may modify this Privacy Policy, before you can access the additional service.
Please note that, you can check your applicable privacy policy or addendum within the Apps that you are using or Websites you are visiting.
3.Types of Information We Collect
a.What Information Does LINE Collect?
To provide you the Service, LINE collects and uses the following types of information:
i.Information for Account Creation and Registration
When you register with us and create a LINE account to use the LINE App, LINE will ask you to provide your telephone number. This information is necessary because we send text message via SMS to phone number provided as part of our ongoing efforts to detect and deter unauthorized or fraudulent use of or abuse of the Service.
Alternatively, you may choose to create a LINE account using your Facebook account when, for example, you wish not to provide your telephone number. In such a case, it is optional to provide your telephone number. Please note that, we do not collect your Facebook password.
If you choose to enable “Allow Others to Add” feature, your telephone number is used to let other users who have your telephone number in their address books add you as a LINE Friend. Please note that you can at any time choose to enable or disable this “Allow Others to Add” feature in “Settings” > “Friends” > “Contacts.”
ii.Device Information and Access Logs When You Use Our Service
When you use the Service or visit our Website, we may obtain and maintain certain electronic identification or log data from your mobile device or personal computer such as: OS type, IP address, browser information including type and language settings, device identifier or mobile application identifier.
This information is necessary as part of our ongoing efforts to detect and deter unauthorized or fraudulent use of or abuse of the Service, as well as to provide you and optimize the Service for your environment.
b.What Other Information Might LINE Collect?
To improve your experience when using the Service, we provide additional functionalities, including the ability to access your LINE account from multiple devices, help you find your friends, or help you enjoy the Service more. If you choose to use such functionalities or your LINE account on multiple devices, we may ask you to provide following types of information:
i.Email Address [OPTIONAL]
You may want to access your LINE account from multiple devices (“Multiple Device Login”) or to transfer your LINE account from one device to another (“Account Transfer”). If you wish to enable the Multiple Devices Login or to transfer your LINE account to a different device, you will need to provide your email address and a password and/or PIN code, so that we may associate these devices with your LINE account.
Please note that, if you change your mind later and decide you no longer wish to provide your email address, you can at any time remove it in “Settings” > “Accounts” menu in the LINE App.
ii.LINE ID [OPTIONAL]
You may want to make it easier for your LINE friends to find you. If you so choose, you can assign a LINE ID to your LINE account, and allow your friends to find you through your LINE ID. Alternatively, you may choose not to allow other LINE users to contact you using your LINE ID. Please note that, your LINE ID is not visible to other LINE users, and it may be a pseudonym.
iii.Contact Telephone Numbers in Your Address Book [OPTIONAL]
You may wish to make it easier for you to find your friends so that you can communicate using LINE App. If you wish to ask us to help you find your friends, you may want to consider enabling “Auto Add Friends” feature. If you choose to enable “Auto Add Friends” feature, we will collect the telephone numbers (and e-mail addresses if issued by Japanese telecom companies) in your mobile device’s address book, and enable you add friends in the LINE App who have consented to being found by their telephone number or e-mail address (“Account Matching Service”). Once you have added a friend in the LINE App, you can call them or send them messages over the LINE App. We will collect information from only the telephone number (and e-mail addresses if issued by Japanese telecom companies) fields in your mobile device’s address book; we do not collect contact names or any information from other data fields. You can at any time change your mind and disable Account Matching Service by turning off this feature under “Settings” -> “Friends” -> “Contacts.” If you do so, the information you provided by this feature will be deleted.
If you would like to invite individual friends or contacts to connect with you on the LINE App, you may send them invitations directly via SMS or e-mail directly from your mobile device using the address book in your mobile phone. When you use the invitation function in the LINE App (“Tell a Friend Service”), we will access your address book to identify your friends. After your friend(s) have been identified, you can send invitations directly to individual friends and contact via SMS or e-mail on your mobile device telephone. LINE does not send invitations as part of the Tell a Friend Service.
iv.Location Information [OPTIONAL]
To use LINE App, you are not required to provide your location information (“geolocation”). However, we provide features that utilize geolocation for your convenience and to improve your user experience:
If you wish to add nearby LINE user(s), you may want to use the “Shake It!” feature, which allows you to add nearby user(s) by shaking your smartphone. You can start the process by choosing the feature under “Add Friends” menu, and start shaking your smartphone along with your nearby friends. Once the process is initiated, we will ask you to access your geolocation so that we can match you with the nearby LINE user(s). Please note that, you can only find users who also initiated the process. Users who do not initiate the “Shake It!” process cannot be found as we do not access their geolocation.
You may wish to receive information about nearby shops provided by “Official Account” in the LINE App. If you choose to receive information from an “Official Account” by pressing the button, we will obtain geolocation via your mobile phone so that we can provide information about shops nearby you.
In both cases, collection and use of your geolocation is one-