TOKYO - Thousands of users of the popular messaging app LINE experienced a privacy breach, with private photos saved in the app’s album feature being inadvertently displayed to strangers. Approximately 135,000 people were affected by the incident.
LINE’s album feature allows users to share photos with groups or individuals. Speaking in Tokyo’s Shibuya district, one woman in her 20s shared how she and her friends use the feature for sharing travel memories and daily moments.
“We often use it for sharing casual photos taken during outings or group trips,” she explained.
However, on October 28th, a system error caused photos shared through this feature to be mistakenly displayed to unrelated users. Although the issue was resolved by October 30th, it left many users alarmed.
A man in his 40s expressed his concerns: “If work-related photos were exposed, it could lead to significant problems.” Another user noted the distress of discovering inappropriate photos in an album meant for private use.
“A group photo folder suddenly contained explicit images of a couple,” said a woman in her 20s. “I didn’t know what to do and just closed LINE.”
Among the affected photos were private images, such as a woman’s nude photo and snapshots of unrelated individuals. A man who had been viewing travel photos with his wife found a disturbing addition.
“We were looking at our vacation pictures when a nude photo of an unfamiliar woman appeared,” he said. “My first thought was to avoid being misunderstood by my wife. It was alarming.”
The glitch also caused unrelated photos of a middle-aged man staring at the camera to appear in another user’s shared album.
LINE Yahoo, which manages the platform, apologized for the incident and requested user cooperation. “If screenshots containing affected images have been saved, we ask users not to share them on social media or other platforms to prevent further harm,” the company said.
Failure to comply may lead to legal consequences, warned legal expert Hiroki Nakamura. “Sharing such content could result in defamation claims or accusations of disrupting business operations,” he stated. “Users should exercise caution to avoid legal risks.”
The incident underscores the risks associated with cloud-based services and highlights the importance of safeguarding private data in today’s digital landscape.
Source: ANN
