Line

LINE is a messenging app popular in Japan. It runs on Android, iOS, Windows, and as a Chrome browser addon.

Unlike competing apps, it is not very social, which can be seen as a pro or con. Most users don’t post anything, so most walls are empty.

Pros:

• Since most people uses it, it is convenient to communicate.
• Does not disclose much information about you.
• Low creepiness: You can not see other people’s friends. It does not suggest to add other people’s friends.
• Chat history is locally stored. Good for privacy, but obviously losing your phone means losing your chat history. Taking backups can not be easily done without a rooted phone.
• Free.
• Original stamps.

Cons:

• Some features require age verification, which only works if you use one of the few big Japanese carriers. No luck for MVNOs.
• LINE steals your contacts and keeps this data on their servers.
• The Chrome browser add-on is unreliable, messages often do not show up.
• Migrating chat history from a phone to another is a huge pain, and group chats can not be migrated.
• Getting locked out of one’s account is a real risk, especially for non-technical persons. The rate of people losing their accounts is unseen in other apps.
• No way to mute a group conversation.