Why can't LINE be used on multiple smartphones? I asked LINE before the end of the Lite version
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The lightweight version of "LINE Lite" (Android) provided by LINE for developing countries will end on February 28th. Originally, the app cannot be used in Japan, but some Japanese users lament that it is "to be honest". With LINE Lite, one account could be used simultaneously on multiple smartphones. In the first place, why can't LINE share an account with multiple smartphones? I asked LINE. [Image] There is no information about LINE Lite in LINE's list of press releases In addition to the smartphone version, LINE has an iPad version and a Windows version. These have a function called "QR code login", which allows you to share accounts between multiple terminals. However, since the smartphone version does not have the same function, it is not possible to share accounts between smartphones. "There have been voices saying that this specification is inconvenient." For example, Twitter, Facebook Messenger, Slack, Discord, etc. can be installed and used on multiple devices without barriers between iOS and Android. "Why can't LINE do this?" When I asked the company, they said that not sharing accounts between smartphones was designed to reduce the risk of unauthorized access. The company's first response can be summarized as follows. In principle, a LINE account is associated with a phone number on a one-to-one basis, and a phone number and a smartphone with LINE installed are required for login. Since you can only log in to a different account on a smartphone with a different phone number, there is almost no risk of unauthorized access unless the smartphone with the screen locked is stolen. Even iPad and Windows require a parent smartphone to log in, so there is no chance of unauthorized access without your knowledge. However, there are some strange points in the explanation. As for SMS authentication itself, it is true that the person himself/herself should be able to receive the information via SMS, so it should be fine to receive the SMS on another smartphone. Besides, if it can be said that login from iPad and Windows is safe, wouldn't it be possible to share accounts between smartphones by adding a QR code login function similar to these to the smartphone version? I asked LINE about this in addition. "You can use the same account on the PC version and the iPad version, but you can't use the same account on multiple devices with the smartphone version. Only one app can be authenticated per phone number. With the same phone number. If you authenticate with a different device, your account will be automatically deleted on the device you were using previously." (LINE) I asked in a different way, but no further information was obtained. Regarding the fact that accounts can be shared between smartphones using LINE Lite, "We do not recommend using LINE Lite to log in to the same account in order to protect the account and prevent abuse." ). Certainly, there are security considerations to be made when a system like QR code login is created in the smartphone version. For example, (1) the attacker uses the owner's smartphone in some way and logs in from the attacker's smartphone, (2) changes the phone number from the settings screen, and (3) logs out from the original smartphone. There seems to be a problem that can be hijacked. This method does not work on the iPad version or Windows version because the phone number cannot be changed. However, if you do the same for the smartphone version, you may not be able to transfer your account when you change your phone number. On the other hand, even if you share your account with LINE Lite by logging in with a QR code, you cannot change your phone number. It would be nice if LINE took information security measures and officially provided an app like LINE Lite, but there are no plans to do so. Regarding LINE Lite, LINE said, "Since LINE Lite is developed by a different department than LINE itself, we can't know the detailed specifications until we ask." I contacted LINE on the same day that the end of service for LINE Lite was announced, but they didn't seem to know about the end of the service either. In the future, it may be possible to share accounts by using a Chrome extension for LINE and a web browser for smartphones that can use the Chrome extension for PCs, but there is little hope of sharing accounts with multiple smartphones.
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