We've confirmed an issue where chats and friends disappear from LINE for iOS when the app or OS is updated.
If you've experienced this issue, we're sorry to say that the only solution available is to delete and reinstall the LINE app, and then transfer your account.
You can restore data other than your chats by reinstalling the LINE app.
Note: If you backed up your chat history to iCloud, you can restore your chats up to the time when the backup was made.
For the steps to transfer your account, please see this Help article.
There is a limit on the number of users you can add as a friend, and who can add you as a friend.
If the message “Sorry, the account you are trying to add cannot accept any more friends.” appears when you try to add a user, it means they cannot be added as a friend because they have already been added by too many other users.
If you added the friend by syncing your contacts, their name will appear the same as in your phone's contacts list.
Note: Their LINE display name will appear under their name in your contacts in a smaller font on the profile pop-up.
For this reason, if your friend cancels the phone number you have in your contacts, or if the number in your contacts is wrong, a different person (the current owner of that phone number) will be displayed on your LINE friends list under your friend’s name.
If any of the following cases apply, please check your friend’s phone number by contacting them using a means other than LINE.
Issues happening on your device
• If an account with your name is appearing on your friends list, please check if you have yourself saved in your contacts with an old phone number.
• If a friend who does not use LINE is appearing on your friends list, please check if your friend’s phone number in your contacts is correct, and if you still have their old phone number.
• If the name of a friend on your friends list suddenly changed, please check if you have changed their name in your contacts.
• If you tried chatting with a friend, but they turned out to be a different friend, please check if you have added multiple phone numbers for that friend in your contacts.
Issues happening on your friend's device
• If you are told by a friend that they see your account even though you don’t have one, please check if your friend has an old phone number of yours in their contacts.
• If you signed up for a new phone number and were displayed as a friend on a stranger's LINE account, the stranger may have the previous owner of your phone number in their contacts.
• If another account with your name is displayed on your friend’s friends list, please check if your friend has an old phone number of yours in their contacts.
If someone you don't know is appearing in your friends list, please remove them after hiding or blocking them. For more information, please see the following Help article:
• They don't have a phone number registered to their LINE account.
Your LINE account settings
The contact might have been added to your Hidden accounts or Blocked users list.
To check:
1. Go to the Home/Friends or More tab and tap Settings.
2. Tap Friends.
3. Tap Hidden accounts or Blocked users.
If your contact appears in one of these lists, tap Edit > Unhide or Unblock.
Note: You won't be able to check your contact's account if it was removed from the Hidden accounts or Blocked users list. In this case, add them manually.
If your contact is still not automatically added to your friend list after checking the above, see this Help article and add them manually.
Your contacts on LINE are listed as "friends." When you add someone as a friend, you can chat with them and invite them to groups. If you are mutual friends, you can also make voice calls with each other.
Note: Voice calls are not supported on some devices.
Your friends who have phone numbers saved in your contacts list and are using LINE will be added as friends automatically when you first sign up.
To prevent automatically adding friends and being added as a friend, please turn OFF Add Friends or Auto Add Friends, and Allow Others to Add when signing up.
There is a limit on the number of users you can add as a friend, and who can add you as a friend.
If the message “Sorry, the account you are trying to add cannot accept any more friends.” appears when you try to add a user, it means they cannot be added as a friend because they have already been added by too many other users.
Your friend may not have turned on "Allow others to add me by ID". Please ask them to check their settings.
To prevent the username search feature from being abused, the feature will temporarily be suspended if a username is searched for (or the wrong ID is entered) too many times. Please understand that we cannot provide any details about how long accounts are suspended for due to security reasons.
When using the "Shake it!" feature, your friend will not be added until “Friend Added!” appears after both you and your friend tap Add. Please see the following if you are having trouble adding friends using “Shake it!”.
Note: You need to turn on Location Services or GPS to use “Shake it!”. If your location is not shown correctly after doing so, please try restarting your device.
If you are using an iOS device, please also check your privacy settings by following the steps below:
1. On your device, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
2. Tap LINE, then select While Using the App.
Note: If you cannot find LINE in Location Services, please restart your device.
To add friends using “Shake it!”
1. Go to More > Add Friends.
2. Tap Shake it!.
3. Shake your phone with your friend at the same time, or just tap the screen.
4. Tap each other’s names on the list that appears.
5. Tap Add.
6. Check that “Friend Added!” appears.
Tap here to open the Add Friends menu from your smartphone.
If you are unable to scan a QR code, please ask your friend to go to More > profile icon > MyQR code, tap the V icon at the top right of the page, then select Generate new QR code.
The “Shake it!” feature uses your location to add friends who are near you.
To add friends using “Shake it!”
1. Go to More > Add Friends.
2. Tap Shake it!.
3. Shake your phones or tap the screen.
Note: Make sure that Location Services or GPS is turned on for both you and your friend.
4. Tap each other’s names on the list that appears.
5. Tap Add.
Tap here to open the Add Friends menu from your smartphone.
If you are already friends, the LINE logo will be displayed. Select the friend you want to add from the users that appear in the results, and tap Add. Once the status changes from “Waiting...” to “Friend Added!”, you will become LINE friends.
You can add friends by searching for their phone numbers.
Your friends need to have the Allow others to add me setting turned ON for you to be able to add them as a friend by searching for their phone numbers. Please have them check their Allow others to add me setting, then follow the steps below:
1. In the LINE app, tap the Friends or More tab > Add friends (the silhouette icon).
Note: You can also tap "Open the Add friends screen" below.
2. Tap Search.
3. Choose Phone number.
4. Select a country and enter your friend's phone number, then tap the search icon.
People Nearby is a feature that allows you to search users around your current location and make new friends. Please note that the use of People Nearby and making friend requests is only available for LINE versions 6.5.0 and later.
From the LINE app, tap More > People Nearby, to start using this new feature.
You will be able to see the profile photos and distance of other users who are also using People Nearby from your location as well as send out a friend request to users who interest you. If they accept your friend request, you will be able to start exchanging messages with each other.
People Nearby uses your current location to help you find new friends near you. For this reason, you need to allow the app to access your location information.
If you have Location Services turned OFF on your device, or if you have not allowed LINE to access your location, please refer to the following steps:
1. From your device, go to Settings > Privacy > and turn ON Location Services.
2. Tap LINE and select either Always or While Using the App.
A user may appear under Friend recommendations because:
• They have your phone number saved in their contacts and are also using LINE (but you don't have their number in your contacts).
• They knew your LINE ID and added you by searching for it on LINE.
• They added you from the member list of a group or multi-person chat you were both in.
• They added you by using your contact information (LINE account information) that was shared in a chat room by a friend of yours.
Note: If your contact information was shared, the user will only be able to see your name registered on LINE, profile photo, and status message.
• They added you using the URL in an invite email, or using your QR code.
In some cases, you'll see how a user added you under friend recommendations.
If you see how a user added you, it will be for the following reasons:
• They added you using your phone number.
• They added you using your QR code.
• They added you using your LINE ID.
If you don’t see how a user added you, it may be because:
• They were in a group with you and added you from it.
• They got your contact information from another one of your friends and added you.
If you have “Auto-add friends” turned on, and someone in your contacts shows up under your friend recommendations, it means they have the following settings configured:
Auto-add friends: ON
Allow others to add me: OFF
The name that appears for a user under your friend recommendations is the name they set on LINE. If an unfamiliar name appears under your friend recommendations, the only way to confirm who they are is to ask them directly.
If you do not want to be automatically added as a friend by someone who has your phone number, please follow the steps below. Note: These steps will not affect existing friends.
1. Go to More > Settings. 2. Tap Friends. 3. Turn OFF Allow Others to Add.
To open the Settings menu from your smartphone, tap here.
• You'll no longer be able to receive chats, voice calls, or video calls from the account.
• The account will be moved from your friend list to your Blocked users list.
Blocking an account from your friend list or Friend recommendations will not completely delete it from your account. To do so, please see the following Help article.
Removing a friend deletes them from your friend list and, unlike blocking, cannot be undone. Please be careful when removing the account of someone you have no other way to contact.
Before you remove an account, you must Hide or Block them first.
To remove an account:
1. Go to the Home/Friends or More tab > Settings.
2. Tap Friends.
3. Tap Hidden accounts or Blocked users.
4. Tap Edit next to the account you want to remove.
5. Tap Remove.
Tap here to open the Settings menu from your smartphone.
How your friend's name will appear on your LINE account will depend on your or your friend's settings.
There are three possibilities:
• If you added the friend by syncing your contacts list, the name registered in your device's contacts list will be displayed.
• If you added the friend by LINE ID search, Shake it!, or QR code (methods other than syncing your contacts list), the name your friend set on their LINE account will be displayed.
• If you manually changed the friend's name on your friends list, the name you edited will appear. This will only change the friend's name on your friends list.
Profile photos
Your friend's profile photo will be the one that they set from their profile screen. You can change your own profile photo, but you cannot change your friend's profile photo.
If a LINE friend is registered using their phone number, the name that they are saved with in your device’s contacts will be displayed. If they are not registered using their phone number, the display name they set in LINE will be displayed.
If you add a friend who is saved in your contacts using their LINE ID, the display name they set in LINE will be displayed.
If the friend whose name does not appear properly is saved in your device's contacts list, it is possible their name contained an emoji when it was saved.
Check your contacts list. If your friend's name was saved with an emoji, please try deleting it.
If the issue persists after trying the above, please refer to the following steps:
1. Go to More > Settings. 2. Tap Friends. 3. Turn ON Add Friends.
Note: If the option is already turned ON, tap the refresh icon next to the last synced date to manually sync your contacts.
Tap here to open the Settings menu from your smartphone.
You can invite friends who aren't using LINE yet by following the steps below.
1. Go to More > Add Friends > Invite.
2. Choose Text message or Email.
3. Choose a friend, then tap the Invite button.
If you selected Text message, friends without the LINE icon displayed by their name can be invited. If you selected Email, friends with the Invite icon displayed by their name can be invited.
Important:
- Invitations will be sent using the SMS or email features on your device. If your friends are not receiving the invitations you send them, please check with your mobile service carrier or email service provider.
- The invite message will include your LINE display name.
The number next to the profile icons shows how many members posted photos or videos in the album. Tap this number to see the photos or videos each member added.
3. Tap "..." at the top right of the note you want to delete.
4. Tap Delete.
5. Tap OK or Delete.
A comment on a note can only be deleted by the person who posted it or the creator of the note.
To unlike a post, just tap the "like" emoji again.
Note: If you rejoin a group with a different LINE account, you will not be able to delete notes (including "likes" and comments on other users' note posts) made by your previous account.
Your chat messages, notes, albums, and photos will not be deleted if you leave a group. If there is anything you want to delete, please do so before leaving the group.
When a group member deletes their account or leaves the group, a message will appear saying "(display name) left the group."
To leave a group:
1. Tap the name of the group you want to leave from the Friends tab.
2. Tap Settings at the top of the screen.
3. Tap Leave group > Leave.
If every member leaves, all of the content posted in the group will be deleted and cannot be restored.
If you decline a group invitation, you will still be displayed as a pending member in the group. To have yourself completely removed from the group, the friend who invited you needs to cancel your invitation.
When a user joins a group, they can view Note and Album posts that were made during the time their membership was pending, but will not be able to see any chat messages posted before they joined.
