Photo credit: kasinv / 123RF.
Messaging app Line is seeing users flee across Southeast Asia. In Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia, which are the social network’s top three countries outside its native Japan, it lost 2 million active users from July to September, according to Line’s latest earnings report.
With little uptake around the rest of the world as Facebook and Snapchat boom, Line only added users – 1 million – in Japan.
Line now has a global total of 203 million active users – a figure that’s been in decline since toward the end of last year:
Line’s profits also fell dramatically in the July to September quarter, down 42 percent compared to the same period last year. That was caused, in part, by a 19 percent hike in operating expenses. Revenue climbed 18 percent.
Despite the growing antipathy towards its main social network, many of Line’s spin-off apps are doing well, with a growing pool of active users for Line News (60 million), Line Live (33 million), and a rising crescendo of ker-chings on Line Manga, Line Music, and Line Shopping, the Tokyo-based firm said yesterday. Line’s phone payment service, Pay, saw record transactions thanks to booming usage in Taiwan.
Elsewhere in Line’s web empire, it’s busy rolling out a line of smart speakers that are equipped with its Siri-esque assistant, Clova.
Updated October 27: After yesterday dodging the question, Line today revealed the grand total figure. One sentence and the second chart have been amended to reflect that.
Editing by Jack Ellis
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