Getting Started with LINE in Taiwan: Basic Tips on Registration, Adding Friends, and Chat Backups

LINE is a popular instant messaging app with an extremely high market share and penetration rate in Taiwan, making it an indispensable digital platform in daily life. It offers free text and voice messaging, as well as video calling features. The general public in Taiwan frequently uses LINE for communication in daily life, at the workplace, and even for merchant services. If you study, work, and live in Taiwan, using the LINE App in Taiwan is indispensable for you.

How to register a LINE account?

First, you need to install the LINE application (Apple, Google) on your mobile phone. After launching the app, click “Sign up,” enter your country and phone number, confirm the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, and then send. A verification code will be sent to your phone via SMS. After entering the verification code, click “Sign up,” set your name, profile picture, and password. Once completed, confirm whether you want to add friends using your phone’s contacts.

How to add friends?

Scanning a QR Code

Click “” on the right side of the search bar on the Home or Chats tab to open the scanner, or select “Show QR code.”

Next, you can scan the other person’s QR code. Once the scan is complete, click “Add.”

Alternatively, you can have the other person scan your QR code, then return to the app’s “Home” tab → “” → and add them as a friend from the “People you may know” list.

Adding a friend by searching their phone number

On the Home tab, click ““, click “Search” → select “Phone number” → select the country, enter the phone number, and click ““.

Adding a friend by searching their LINE ID

On the Home tab, click ““, click “Search” → select “ID” → enter your friend’s ID, and click ““.

Once you have successfully added a friend, you can send messages to them in the chat room. Besides text messages, you can also send stickers, photos, videos, voice messages, location information, etc.; you can also call your friends.

You can select the friend you want to call from the friends list on the Home tab and choose “Voice call” or “Video call”; or click “” at the top right of the chat room screen > “Voice call” or “Video call.”

Can I use my LINE account on different devices?

The device (mobile phone or tablet) used to register the account is the primary device. You can add other secondary devices (computer, mobile phone, tablet).

You can log in to a secondary device through different methods, including:

How to open the “QR code scanner” on the primary device (the phone used to register the account):

• Open from the search bar: Click the “” icon on the right side of the search bar on the Home or Chats tab to open the QR code scanner.

• Open from the Add Friend page: Click the “” icon on the Home tab, then click the QR code icon at the top to open the QR code scanner.

Will I still have my past chat history if I change phones? How do I back it up?

LINE chat histories are stored within the LINE app on the user’s device. Therefore, when changing to a new device or changing the device type, requiring a reinstallation of the LINE app, the chat history will be lost. If you want to restore your past chat history after reinstalling, you must back it up beforehand.

Preparation

• iOS: Confirm that iCloud Drive is turned on and that there is sufficient storage space in iCloud Drive.

• Android: Confirm that Google Drive is turned on and that there is sufficient storage space in Google Drive.

Operating Procedures

Backup Method	iOS	Android
Manual	On the Home tab, click the Settings icon “” → Account transfer and backup → Back up chat history → select “Back up now”, and close only when finished. ※ Pay attention to iCloud backup network settings.	On the Home tab, click the Settings icon “” → Account transfer and backup → Back up chat history → select “Back up now”, and close only when finished.
Automatic	On the Home tab, click the Settings icon “” → Account transfer and backup → Back up chat history → select “Backup frequency” to set it up.	On the Home tab, click the Settings icon “” → Account transfer and backup → Back up chat history → select “Backup frequency” → turn on “Auto-backup” and select the backup frequency.

What should I do if my phone is lost or my account is hacked? Do I need to bind everything? What can I do?

• Check basic settings

Open LINE on your phone → Home → Gear icon at the top right (Settings) → Account

Confirm that the following items are set up or bound:

• Phone number (Must be a valid number that can receive SMS verification codes. For example, it cannot be a prepaid card that hasn’t been topped up in a long time, as the number will be taken back by the telecom company).

• Email address (Must be an email you can still log into to receive messages, otherwise you will have no backup plan if you forget your password).

• Password

• Apple or Google account (Both or at least one. After binding, it will display “Unlink,” which means the binding is successful).

What is LINE Pay? How to bind it?

“LINE Pay” is a mobile payment service provided by LINE, allowing users to easily make payments at LINE Pay partner stores.

If you have completed your LINE account registration, you can click “Wallet” in the APP → select “Register Now” → read and agree to the Terms of Service, then click “Sign up” → set your LINE Pay password.

After registration is complete, you can bind a credit card (limited to VISA, MasterCard, and JCB), and you will be able to pay via LINE Pay in the future.

Click “Wallet” → select “LINE Pay” → click “Register a credit/debit card”

Fill in the credit card details in order: card number, expiration date, security code, and the name on the credit card.

After filling them in, the “Register” button at the bottom will turn green. Click it and enter your LINE Pay password → the system will require identity verification → if there are no issues, it will show that the card has been successfully bound.

※ There will be a NT$0 test transaction during binding, but you will not actually be charged.

How to make a payment via LINE Pay?

After opening the LINE app, click “Wallet” → select “LINE Pay” → select “My Code” or “Scan” → provide the barcode to the clerk or kiosk to scan for payment; or scan the store’s payment code and enter the amount to pay (usually the store will be given a chance to confirm again).

※ Some convenience stores do not support certain credit cards.

What is 1955 E-LINE?

This is an account established by the Ministry of Labor specifically to provide promotional information to migrant workers in Taiwan. It can be used to query information related to working and living in Taiwan, employment permit information, a medical map for migrant workers, and live online customer service. It will also periodically provide reminders on the latest regulations and lifestyle information.

Click the links below to add:

English version: https://lin.ee/jap3WmC

Indonesian version: https://lin.ee/CP0lzIK

Vietnamese version: https://lin.ee/GOrGlZI

Thai version: https://lin.ee/c0fW2nc

In addition, migrant workers can bind the “Personalized Push Notification Service” through 1955 E-LINE. Open the chat room and click “Migrant Worker LINE Binding” in the menu at the bottom. Once bound, you will receive:

• Notification before the expiration of the employment period.

• Reminder of the resident certificate (ARC) expiration date.

• Notifications related to the employment permit: permission/revocation/non-permission, etc.

• Immediate notification if your employer reports you as missing.

• Notifications and reminders about your rights during a transfer of employer or while waiting to return to your home country.