LINE MINI App Policy
Introduction
LINE MINI App Policy Guidelines (hereinafter referred to as "the Guidelines"), whose purpose is to explain the review and operating precautions of LINE MINI App (hereinafter referred to as "LINE MINI App") so that customers can utilize this platform (hereinafter referred to as the "Service") seamlessly, are provided to by LY Corporation (hereinafter referred to as "the Company") to customers who use the Service provided by the Company to operate their LINE MINI Apps.
The Guidelines are applicable to customers who utilize the LINE MINI App, upon having developed a LINE MINI App based on the LINE MINI App Platform Terms (hereinafter referred to as "Terms of Use") and passed the review prescribed by "the Company".
Should there be no applicable provision in the Guidelines, as a general rule, the provisions of the Terms of Use shall be applied, and if the provisions of the Guidelines conflict with the provisions of the Terms of Use, the Guidelines shall take precedence.
The contents of the Guidelines are as of October 2023, and are subject to change due to changes in social conditions and related laws and regulations.
・LY Corporation Common Terms of Use
・LINE MINI App Platform Rules
Service Policy
LINE MINI App is an application that customers can use to increase their engagement with LINE users nationwide (hereinafter referred to as "Users").
Users can access all services and information of stores and companies within LINE without having to install a separate app for each respective service.
Concurrently, the medium, LINE, is a communication platform that is used daily by users of all age groups, from children to adults.
Therefore, the Company places great importance on the following points regarding LINE MINI App, which is published through this service: "What the recipients (users) think of the information"; "Is necessary information being provided to users in an appropriate manner?"; "Do users feel uncomfortable in any way?"; and "Can all users use LINE safely and securely?"
We have established these Guidelines to enhance the user experience on LINE by building better relationships between customers and users through LINE.
LINE MINI App Review
(1) About LINE MINI App Review
When you apply for LINE MINI App, LINE will carry out the prescribed review.
In some cases, in addition to the information submitted at the time of application, LINE may request that additional materials and documents be submitted. The information and materials submitted to LINE must be accurate and up-to-date.
In addition to the reasons for deletion or exclusion described in Paragraph 2, Article 10 (Taking Down of Your App) of the LINE MINI App Platform Terms of Use, LINE may, at its discretion, refuse to publish the LINE MINI App depending on your business type, category, and content.
(2) Review Criteria
LINE will conduct a review based on the following requirements when publishing the LINE MINI App.
1. Could it cause a disadvantage to users?
2. Does it conflict with the existence of regulations and/or the contents of the regulations?
3. Is there a risk of being in violation of the Terms of Sse, prohibited items of the Guidelines, or other contracts (including the LINE developer contract)?
4. Does it meet the review criteria established by the Company?
5. Will it adversely affect the Company's business or damage its credit?
In addition, the Company bears no obligation to explain the result of the review to the customer.
(3) The Customer's Responsibility
Even if the Company has approved of the publication of the LINE MINI App through a review, the approval does not reduce the Customer's legal or social responsibility when using this service.
At the time of using this service, it is assumed that the Customer has accepted the legal and social responsibility associated with using this service.
In addition, the Company shall not be liable for any damage caused to a third party by the Customer's use of the service.
Permitted Customers
This service is available only if the customer applies to either of these categories:
・Organizations with a Corporate Number if the region to provide the service is Japan, or a TAX ID if it is Taiwan or Thailand
・However, when your service area is Taiwan or Thailand, you can only create a LINE MINI App channel if you have been approved by the Company. The contact details for receiving approval are currently being prepared.
・Individual business owners in Japan
◆Prohibited Customers
Even the Customers are organizations with a Corporate Number or TAX ID, or individual business owners, if the Company deems that any of the following items apply to the Customer, the Customer will be prohibited from using the service. In addition, even after the Customer used the service to publish a LINE MINI App, if it is found that any of the following items apply, the LINE MINI App may be immediately deleted and the service, discontinued. We ask for your understanding in advance.
・Corporations, organizations, individuals providing products or services that may be used for crimes.
・Corporations, organizations, individuals who may constitute or promote illegal or criminal acts.
・Corporations, groups, individuals who are engaged in illegal sale, brokerage, mediation of another person's personal information, registration information, usage history, etc.
・Corporations, groups, individuals who are performing or may perform acts that violate laws or public order and morals.
・Corporations, organizations, individuals that the Company judges to be in breach of contract.
・Other corporations, groups, individuals that the Company determines inappropriate for the use of this service.
Businesses which cannot release LINE MINI Apps
Businesses falling into the following categories cannot release a LINE MINI app:
・Religious organizations
・Adult bars or night clubs (including hostess clubs, host clubs, snack bars, girls bars, and boys bars)
・Gambling including slot machines
・Dating or match-making agencies, arranging meet-ups or providing date places (excluding those recognized by the Company)
・Lending agencies (excluding those recognized by the Company)
・Fund-raising, donation or cloud funding (excluding those recognized by the Company)
・Multi-level marketing schemes
・Cigarettes or electronic cigarettes
・Weaponry or poisons
・Overseas purchase of unapproved medicines and medical equipment or medicines or purchase of such items via - purchase agents
・Clinical trials
・Investment related consulting services or self-development seminars
・Private investigation
・Politics
・Sale of animals or insects (excluding those recognized by the Company)
・Other industries, businesses, products or services that are deemed inappropriate by the Company
Prohibited matters regarding published LINE MINI Apps
Don't publish or distribute LINE MINI App that includes the following contents or actions.
・Content that violates laws, court decisions, decisions or orders, or administrative measures that are legally binding.
・Content that promotes illegal acts or behavior supporting such acts.
・Content that infringes on the intellectual property rights such as copyrights, trademark rights, etc. of the Company or a third party, and other laws or contractual rights.
・Content that may be slanderous, defaming, or offensive to public order and morality.
・Content that contains antisocial messages, benefits antisocial forces, or is cooperative of such activities.
・Content that induces purchase of virtual items such as digital contents or acts of introducing a system for purchase of virtual items.
・Content that violates the On User Inducement section regarding inducement to other native applications or external websites (sites with domain names different from the domain name of the LINE MINI App endpoint URL).
・Acts of disclosing the URLs (LIFF URLs and permanent links) of the "Published" LINE MINI App that haven't been reviewed by the Company.
・Malicious marketing or spamming
・Unauthorized collection, disclosure, or provision of personal information, registration information, usage history information, etc. of third parties.
・Violent or explicit sexual expressions, or content that leads to discrimination based on race, nationality, creed, gender, social status, etc.
・Repulsive, cruel, bizarre and offensive content.
・Sexual content such as pornography, content intended for sexual or obscene activity, content intended for encounters or relationships with third party strangers.
・Content related to a specific religion, thought, belief, or creed.
・Content that remarkably arouses speculation and gratification, or expressions or content that encourages gambling.
・Non-scientific or superstitious content that may confuse or mislead users or harm their rights or interests.
・Content related to network marketing, pyramid schemes, etc.
・Content for the purpose of collecting charitable donations.
・Acts that interfere with the operation of this service and interfere with the server or network system.
・Content that includes expressions that conflict with the Terms of Use or these Guidelines.
・Content or action that violate the policies, terms and conditions, and documents equivalent to those provided by other platform providers such as Apple Inc. or Google LLC.
・Content or action that assist or promote action corresponding to any of the above.
・Other contents that LINE deems inappropriate.
Penalties
When there is an expression that the Company judges to be inappropriate in the LINE MINI App released by the Customer (including all distribution contents, creatives, etc.), and when there is an act that conflicts with "Prohibitions regarding published LINE MINI Apps," or "Operation notes," the Company may take the following measures against the Customer:
・Deletion of the LINE MINI App
・Suspension of service
・Termination of service contract
・Suspension of use of specific functions
In any instance, LINE shall not be obliged to provide a reason.
Operational Notes
When using the LINE MINI App, comply with these precautions in addition to the above precautions for operation.
・Outline Description
Customers should clearly explain the outline of the LINE MINI App to be published.
・Restrictions to inducements
Refrain from advertising your company or other companies in the Service Messages. Also, the main features installed on the LINE MINI App released by the customer shall only be provided within the LINE MINI App (except in the case that the Company approves in the On User Inducement section).
Making the service available only via external functions is forbidden.
・Changes to registered information currently available on the LINE MINI App
If you need to change the name or category of the LINE MINI App, you must apply for re-review. For more information, see Re-review after updating your LINE MINI App.
Disclaimer
・If the published LINE MINI App contains content that the Company judges to be inappropriate, it may be deleted without notice.
・The Company does not disclose any user data or information regarding interactions with users. (excluding some features)
・It's assumed that the service provided, and the LINE MINI App published by the Customer to that end, are operated in accordance with various related laws and regulations.
・Recognizing that this service may not be provided by platforms such as Apple Inc. and Google LLC, provide the service at your own risk. The Company shall not be liable for any disadvantages arising from the provision thereof.
・The features of this service (including the management screen) and the contents of these Guidelines are subject to change without notice. In addition, the Company may change the Terms of Use and these Guidelines by publicizing or notifying the customer as necessary. If you continue to use this service after said changes, you are deemed to have agreed to the changes to the Terms of Use and these Guidelines.
・When using this service to publish the LINE MINI App, you may receive complaints from users and suffer disadvantages. Bearing in mind these possibilities, you shall use this service at your own risk and publish the LINE MINI App, and LINE shall not be liable for any complaints from users or disadvantages suffered by the Customer.
LINE MINI App Advertising Policy
Businesses and services that cannot distribute advertisements on the LINE MINI App
If the Company finds that your LINE MINI App has one of the following characteristics, whether entirely or partially, the Company may suspend distributing your advertisements.
Please note that the following is only short list of examples, and the Company may reject the distribution of advertisements in other cases.
・Religion related
・Adult related (adult products/content, adult entertainment business, nightclubs, etc.)
・Dating related (matching sites, matching parties, etc.)
・Related to gambling, pachinko, etc. (excluding publicly managed gambling and lotteries)
・Multilevel marketing
・Detective business
・Cigarettes or electronic cigarettes
・Weapons or poisonous and deleterious substances
・Political parties and politics related
・Unapproved drugs, medical devices, etc.
・Moneylending business (consumer finance)
・Information products, self-development seminars, etc.
・Fundraising, donation or crowdfunding
・Clinical trial related
Prohibitions regarding the distribution of advertisements on the LINE MINI App
Do not distribute advertisements that include the following content or actions:
・Content that contains antisocial messages, benefits antisocial forces, or cooperates with such activities
・Actions that are aimed at pay-per-click, malicious marketing, or spamming
・Actions that intentionally spread false information or content not related to the operation and maintenance of the business of your LINE MINI App
・Content that infringes upon intellectual property rights, such as copyrights and trademark rights of the Company or third parties, and other rights under laws and regulations or contracts
・Actions that direct to pages not directly related to the owner or the banner of the advertisement
・Content that may be slanderous, defaming, or offensive to public order and morality
・Actions that fraudulently collect, disclose, or provide personal information, registration information, usage history information, etc., of third parties
・Content that includes violent or explicit sexual expressions or leads to discrimination based on race, nationality, creed, gender, social status, etc.
・Repulsive, cruel, bizarre, or offensive content
・Sexual content, such as pornography and content intended to show sexual or obscene activities and encounters or dating with third-party strangers
・Content related to a specific religion, thought, belief, or creed
・Content in which the advertised service or product is not clear
・Content that arouses speculation or gratification, or expressions or content that encourages gambling
・Non-scientific or superstitious content that may confuse or mislead users or harm their rights or interests
・Content related to network marketing, pyramid schemes, etc.
・Content aimed at collecting donations as charity or fundraising
・Content that includes expressions that conflict with the LY Corporation Common Terms of Use or these Guidelines
・Content that conflicts with the LINE Logo Guidelines
・Actions that obstruct the operation of this service, interfere with the servers or network systems, or intentionally use failure of this service
・Actions that lead to unreasonable inquiries or demands to the Company
・Content or actions that assist or promote actions corresponding to any of the above
・Little content by the advertiser or low-quality content
・Content that includes links to websites of third parties who are not related to advertisers, or images reproduced without permission
・Unreliable comparisons or rankings with products of other companies
・Content with unclear indications of purchase conditions, etc.
・Content that lacks accuracy, reliability, or usefulness for users
・Other content that the Company deems inappropriate
Penalties regarding the distribution of advertisements on the LINE MINI App
If your LINE MINI App (including all distributed content and banners) includes content that the Company deems inappropriate, and if there is an act that conflicts with the “Prohibitions regarding the distribution of advertisements on the LINE MINI App,” the Company may request you to suspend the distribution of advertisements.
If you do not comply with the Company’s request, the Company may take the following measures:
・Deletion of the LINE MINI App
・Suspension of the service
・Termination of the service contract
In any instance, the Company shall not be obliged to provide a reason.
Other restrictions and conditions
In order for your LINE MINI App to pass the review, you must comply with the following restrictions. Also, check to see whether you followed our recommendations. If we find that your LINE MINI App does not comply with our policies and guidelines, your LINE MINI App may be removed from LINE.
Restrictions
The LINE MINI App must follow the guidelines below:
◆On User Inducement
The main features installed on the LINE MINI App released by the Customer must be provided within the LINE MINI App. However, non-LINE users may be directed to external browsers when the “directing non-LINE users to web browsers” function is enabled. In addition, directing users to external websites and native apps is permitted on a temporary basis in the following cases:
Directing to external websites and native apps
In the process of using the main features installed on the LINE MINI App, you can temporarily direct the user to external websites and native apps, as in the following cases:
・Transaction and authentication
・Payment on a native app
To view information or use services that aren't the main features of the LINE MINI App, you can direct the user to external websites and native apps, as in the following cases:
・Open privacy policy page, terms of use or company's website
・Open the map app to check the shop location
【Directing to external websites】
Directing to external websites means opening a website with a domain name different from the domain name of the LINE MINI App endpoint URL with the LIFF browser or external browsers.
Directing users to an external website may cause some problems such as the permanent link of the LINE MINI App malfunctioning. Therefore, the operation isn't guaranteed when the user is directed to an external website.
◆Monetization
It is prohibited to sell virtual items, such as digital content.
◆Guaranteeing the safety of content
LINE is a communication platform that people of all ages, from children to the elderly, use daily. Therefore, content provided by LINE MINI App is assumed to be safe and appropriate for all ages and should not be offensive.
◆External browser
The URL set in the endpoint URL of the LINE MINI App must be accessible from web browsers such as Safari and Chrome.
◆LINE MINI App Name
Follow the instructions below to determine the name of your LINE MINI App
・If you already have a native app or website, use the same name.
・If your company name, brand name, and service name are different, choose the name that is most familiar to your users.
・If you offer multiple LINE MINI Apps, give each LINE MINI App a different name. For example, if you're releasing a respective LINE MINI App for several stores, be sure to input the name of each store.
・Use proper nouns to identify the service. Do not use common nouns such as "waiting" or "order".
・Although the use of the word "LINE" isn't prohibited, avoid names that may be misunderstood as being associated with LY Corporation.
・Your LINE MINI App name is limited to 20 characters. Any character beyond this limit will be displayed as "...". If your LINE MINI App name exceeds 20 characters, use abbreviations to reduce it to 20 or under.
◆Company Information
If the company in charge of developing the LINE MINI App and the company providing the service are different, notify the user on the Channel consent screen and privacy policy page.
Channel consent screen
The following information should be displayed on the Channel consent screen. When the Channel consent screen is displayed, LINE uses the following information registered on LINE Developers Console.
・Service Company Name: [Channel Basic Setting] Tab > Enter Name in [Channel Description].
・Link to the Privacy Policy Page: [Channel Basic Setting] Tab >The URL configured in [Privacy Policy URL] will be displayed on the Channel consent screen.
【 You can't configure the Privacy Policy URL when creating a LINE MINI App channel】
If the company in charge of developing the LINE MINI App and the service provider are different, you will need to configure the [channel description] and [Privacy Policy URL] in order to pass the review.
You can't configure the [Privacy Policy URL] when creating a LINE MINI App channel. Edit settings after first creating a channel.
Privacy policy page
・This information should be displayed on the privacy policy page.
・Provision of personal information of the user acquired through the LINE MINI App from the main company to a third party (actual service provider), under user consent.
・The name of the third party that shares your personal information.
・Information shared with third parties.
・When personal information is provided.
Also, when a partner makes a privacy policy page for another client in the partner domain, the following needs to be included in the privacy policy page:
----
{Partner name} provides {LINE MINI App name} to {Client name}. In providing this service, we have created an official privacy policy for {Client name} in the domain of {Partner name}. < Service provider > - {Client name} - {Client address}
----
【Defining partner and client】
・"A partner" is a development company that deploys a LINE MINI App through SaaS packages such as hair salon reservation systems, food ordering systems, etc.
・"A client" is an individual service provider that uses the partner's SaaS package system.
Example of privacy policy:
"Brown Order System Co., Ltd."provides "Cony Coffee Mobile Order Service"to "Cony Coffee Co., Ltd."
In providing this service, we have created an official privacy policy for "Cony Coffee Co., Ltd."in the domain of "Brown Order System Co., Ltd."
< Service provider >
◆Intellectual property
Obtain the proper copyright for all types of materials used in the LINE MINI App.
◆Top page
・The top page is displayed when users open the LIFF URL found in the LIFF tab of your LINE MINI App channel on the LINE Developers Console.
・The content of the top page of your LINE MINI App shouldn't confuse users. It shouldn't be a text-only page or appear like an error screen.
・If users directly open the website of the store linked to the LINE MINI App, they won't see this top page. However, if they access the LINE MINI App within the LINE App, they will be directed to the top page, so make sure to properly configure your top page in advance.
◆Promoting products or services
Regulations, etc. prescribed in the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions may apply when promoting products or services.
Check this page for concrete details on the regulations.
Recommendations
We recommend that you consider the following to improve the user experience:
◆Does not redirect
Do not set redirects on the LINE MINI App top page. Redirects will slow down the loading of your top page and increase the likelihood of users' tapping on the back button.
◆Adhere to development guidelines
・All custom features implemented in LINE MINI App, such as using payment system or implementing custom action button, are implemented according to the instructions in this document.
・Abide by the LINE MINI App development guidelines of the LINE MINI App documentation.
・LINE MINI App uses a system provided by LIFF. Therefore, abide by the LIFF app development guidelines in the LIFF documentation.
◆Provide a comfortable user experience
・Display the first page (i.e. the top page) within 3 seconds of lauching the LINE MINI App. We recommend displaying the first page within 1 second of launching.
・Provide a comfortable user experience to enhance the performance of the LINE MINI App, check the Performance Guideline.
・Implement all the features you will provide on your LINE MINI App.
◆Make it easy to contact
・Display the name of the service provider on the LINE MINI App. Specify who the service provider is.
・For times when your users need support for problems they have encountered, display a link to the customer support provided by the service provider, your LINE Official Account ID, email address, and other contacts in your LINE MINI App.
◆Have a separate channel to store user data
・Use the user data within the range of authority obtained in the Channel consent screen. You can request more data about your service, such as payment methods and shipping information.
・You can require users to sign in to the service so that their data, such as their purchase history and booking records, can be used. In this case, use the account linking feature (which links the account prepared by the service and the LINE account) so that you won't have to log in to the service again in the future.
・You can instruct to subscribe to the service only if membership registration is necessary to manage member points and use purchase services. User data can be acquired and used within the range of authority acquired on the Channel consent screen. After the user has registered, link the account prepared by the service for the user with the user's LINE account (account link feature). Once the accounts are linked, don't request to sign in to the service account from the LINE MINI App.
・The feature that enables signing in to the service using the user's social media account is only allowed if the user has a service account linked to the user's LINE account. Using a social media account to register or sign in to the services provided by the LINE MINI App is prohibited.
◆PC
・You don't need to implement a separate PC response for your LINE MINI App. When the LINE MINI App URL is executed on a PC, a QR code that induces mobile use will be displayed.
Pre-development consultation
After checking the LINE MINI App Policy, if you need to discuss whether the service you are considering can be released as a LINE MINI App or not, see How can I check whether my service project is eligible for release before developing a LINE MINI App .
Also, for more information on the most frequently asked questions about the planning, screening and development of LINE MINI Apps, see LINE MINI Apps (only available in Japanese) in LINE for Business. Note that the above page is only for users who publish LINE MINI Apps in Japan.
Revised Febrary 14th, 2024