LINE

Free calls, fun stickers, and a social timeline in one chat app

LINE blends chat, voice and video calls, and a lively social feed into a single, feature-rich package that works on both phone and desktop. It is as much about staying in touch as it is about sharing life with friends and brands you like.

Messaging covers the essentials and more. One-on-one and group chats are straightforward, with support for groups up to 100 participants and a generous library of stickers, emojis, and themes to personalize conversations. Hidden Chat adds privacy with timer-based messages that disappear after they are viewed. Calling shines too: voice and video calls between LINE users are free, and the audio quality is excellent, though there can be a small delay on WiFi and data. You can also place premium calls to contacts who are not on LINE, and group calling is supported.

LINE leans into social features. The Timeline lets you post updates, photos, and stickers, then collect likes and comments from friends. You can follow businesses and celebrities to keep up with promotions and news, add photos in comments, record and upload short videos, and even start calls directly from notifications. A discovery option helps you find nearby people to chat with, and there are numerous linked mini apps for games and photos, with a simple switch to control whether they can message you.

There is smart assistance baked in as well. AI Chat-kun brings ChatGPT into LINE for long-form writing, advice, travel planning, email templates, recipes, and more. Note that this AI is English-only and tuned for PCs, so it feels limited for non-English speakers and on phones.

A few drawbacks are worth noting. Contact management lacks a delete option, although you can hide or block. Navigation can feel cluttered, especially when jumping out of Timeline, and registering with an email address limits you to text chat. Still, if you want quality calls, big group chats, and a social layer across phone and desktop, LINE is a compelling choice.