
Good news for all of us who’ve sent a message to the wrong person, or sent a message that’s just plain wrong.
After beginning service in Japan in 2011, Naver Corporation’s Line messaging app quickly become one of the most popular ways to stay connected to personal acquaintances. A big part of the appeal is that thanks to its streamlined, optimized-for-smartphones interface, Line is quicker and easier to use than email for written communication on the go.
But sometimes the speed and simplicity of Line can cause problems of their own. It’s so effortless to compose and fire off a message that just about everyone has completed the process in seconds, only to notice it was sent to the wrong person. Even when you’ve selected the right recipient, the way Line allows for almost stream of consciousness-style correspondence makes it all too easy to send a hasty, overly harsh message at someone you’ve been arguing with, or to send a message that you thought was incredibly clever while you were five beers into the night, but which seems decidedly less so once you’ve sobered up a bit.
From next month, though, Line is throwing users a bone and giving you a chance to erase your mistakes, as a new “unsend” function is being added to the app which will let you delete sent messages. There is one catch, though, in that the function can only be used for messages that are less than 24 hours old. Once a full day passes, your message is in the system forever.
On the bright side, the speedy nature of online communication means that odds are if 24 hours have passed, the person you sent the message to has already seen it, and you’re past the point where deleting the message would make any difference. But at least the unsend function will allow you to avoid the embarrassment of accidentally sending a booty call to your mom, or the fallout from a remark that you immediately realize cuts a little deeper than you want it to.
Somewhat counterintuitively, Line is celebrating the addition of its unsend function with what it’s calling its “Black Friday” event, which actually has no connection to the American shopping event that takes place on the day after Thanksgiving. Instead, Line’s Black Friday is a campaign running from November 16 to 24 in which it’s encouraging users to send messages with the hashtag #LINE誤爆 (“Line messages sent to the wrong person”), sharing their tales of when they screwed up and sent a message through the app to someone other than who they intended to.
🔥NEWS🔥この冬、LINEに待望の「送信取消」機能が登場⚡️消せないLINEの幕閉じを記念し、今までのやっちゃった話を大募集!#LINE誤爆 でキャプチャやエピソードをツイートして、Best of #LINE誤爆 の称号を得よう🎅→https://t.co/XuwVUnntzV
— LINE (@LINEjp_official) November 16, 2017
みなさんの誤送信による #黒歴史、お待ちしています。 pic.twitter.com/HaBy2wZkgT
The best stories will earn their users Line points, gifts codes, and other prizes. On the other hand, if you simply decide to lie low and limit your Line messages to the absolute minimum until the unsend function gets added in December, we can’t say we blame you.
Related: Line Black Friday
Images ©SoraNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]


Japanese Line users unleash their inner troll after popular messaging app gets hacked
Studio Ghibli adds The Boy and the Heron stamps to Line messaging app in Japan
“Poke” your favorite anime characters on LINE mobile chat app!【Instructions】
New Pokémon Line app message stamps raise money for children in Japan’s disaster-struck regions
Is it acceptable to break up via instant message? Japanese men and women weigh in
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japanese Shinkansen becomes an overnight hotel for three nights this summer
99-year-old woman rescued while attempting to climb Mt. Fuji
Giant Evangelion Spear of Longinus to be installed at Japanese train station with Eva art trains
New Shinkansen luggage drop-off system begins in Japan, making train travel even easier
Starbucks Japan releases a miniature display rack so you can create your very own store at home
Kodama Shinkansen trains on popular Japan route get a whole new look this winter
Japanese Coo-Che becomes a viral sensation, and everyone wants a taste
Which country’s foreign tourists spend the most money per-person in Japan? Hint: Not the U..S. or China
Eight great words for talking about summer in Japan in Japanese
Japan now has human refrigerators inspired by Japanese vending machines
Studio Ghibli releases anime T-shirts that pay homage to one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most personal films
Hatsune Miku collaborates with Hokusai’s art in new Vocaloid ukiyo-e illustration series [Pics]
Japanese convenience store releases Japanese convenience store-flavor fried chicken
Family Mart’s new Tokyo flagship convenience store doesn’t feel convenient, but is that a problem?
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Japan triples departure tax, foreign tourists and locals now must pay more to leave country
Family Mart opens new “Famima” flagship store in Tokyo that’s like a tourist attraction
Sanrio Character Poll announces winners, Hello Kitty absent from top 10 in many countries
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
Police officer caught downloading dirty videos from suspect’s phone
Retro Pokémon stamps with sound effects released for instant messaging app Line!
Math-solving phone app is the quickest way to self-study, skip homework, and/or fail your tests
What happens when you use a face-filter app on an ugly daikon? Japanese Twitter shows us
“Drunk Mode” added to Japanese rail navigation smartphone app
Real-time shade information added to walking app from Navitime Japan
Our reporter makes himself too sexy for his face with Line Camera’s “beauty” function
Japan Self Defense Forces hoping to entice new recruits with… dancing avatar smartphone app
You Can Have Your Very Own Whale Party on iPhone Messages In Just a Few Simple Steps
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time leaps into Line messaging app as an awesome anime stamp set
Studio Ghibli releases new batch of Line app anime stamps, this time for Kiki’s Delivery Service!
New way to buy Shinkansen tickets, through messaging app, coming this fall
Thoughtful message on Starbucks cup saves customer from a day of embarrassment
Thieving made easy! Japanese smartphone service lets you order duplicate keys by taking a photo
Send Your Message With a Smash! Smartphone App, Smash Message, Allows You to Vent Your Feelings