How to use LINE OpenChat: search, join, change your nickname, notes, threads and leaving

SocialContactApp · Fu Xin Co., Ltd. · Updated 2026-10-14

To join a LINE OpenChat, search for it from the Chats tab or open an invitation, choose to join with a new profile, set the image and nickname you will use in that OpenChat, and join. Each OpenChat can have its own nickname, so your main LINE profile is not used. When a member leaves, LINE posts a system message in the chat, and only the admin can turn those messages off. According to the LINE Help Center, OpenChat is only available in Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand, so this guide follows the Help Center pages for those countries; menu names differ by country.

Searching for and joining an OpenChat

Search from the Chats tab: enter a name or keyword and switch to the OpenChat results. You can also open the OpenChat home page and browse (in Thailand's version it has its own OpenChat tab).
Choose the OpenChat and tap the button to join with a new profile.
Set the profile image and nickname you will use in this OpenChat, then tap Join.
Read the notes on using OpenChat and confirm.

Only OpenChats that allow search appear in search results; the others can only be joined through an invitation link or QR code. If you received an invitation, tap the invitation message. If the OpenChat has sub-chat rooms, a list of rooms appears first and the main room is marked in green. On Windows or Mac, open OpenChat from the main menu, click search at the top right and enter a keyword; to join, click Open in LINE and then Join. According to the LINE Help Center, OpenChat cannot be used in LINE for Chrome.

OpenChats that need a code or approval, and cancelling a request

There are three kinds of OpenChat: anyone can join, you need a participation code set by the admin, or the admin has to approve you.

Code: enter the code the admin gave you.
Approval: send a request and you join once the admin approves it; OpenChats that need no approval let you join right away.
Cancelling a request: before the admin approves it, open OpenChat from the top of the Chats tab, tap your OpenChats at the bottom right, open the pending tab and tap Cancel next to that OpenChat. This is not possible in LINE for PC.
OpenChats you have joined: listed in the same place, under the joined tab.

Unlike a regular LINE chat, an OpenChat shows up to the last 6 months of messages, so new members can read what was said before they joined.

A different nickname in each OpenChat

You can use a different profile image and nickname in each OpenChat, without using your main LINE profile. To change the nickname or image you use in one OpenChat:

Open the menu at the top of the chat and go to Settings.
Tap Profile.
Change the image or nickname and tap Done.

On Windows or Mac it is in the menu at the top of the chat, under the detailed settings and Profile. Changing the OpenChat's own name is different: according to the LINE Help Center, only the admin can edit the OpenChat's name, cover image, description and category, from Settings in the same menu.

Notes and threads

Notes: open Notes from the menu at the top of the chat. You can edit or delete only the notes you posted, and if posting is restricted you won't see the button to write one. A note can be shared to a chat room in the same OpenChat, but not to another OpenChat or a regular LINE chat. Important notes can be added to a list at the top of Notes.

Threads: a thread opens a separate conversation about one message. Press and hold the message, choose Thread and send a message (on a PC, right-click the message). The icon at the top right of the chat lists the threads, split into favorites and all; threads you started or posted in are added to favorites automatically. You can't start a thread from a message sent more than 48 hours ago. Taiwan's LINE Help Center says a thread no longer accepts messages 2 weeks after it is created, while the Japanese and Thai pages say 3 weeks. A thread is deleted when its original message is unsent or deleted from every member's chat history.

Don't want to see someone's messages? What members and admins can do

Any member: hide messages. Tap the member's profile image (or open Members from the menu at the top of the chat) and choose to hide their messages; their later messages then show as hidden. This only affects your own device, and other members aren't told whose messages you hid. Messages from the admin and co-admins can't be hidden, and hiding is reset if you or that member leave and join again.
The admin and co-admins with delete permission: delete messages. Press and hold a message, choose Delete and delete it from every member's chat history.
The admin and co-admins: remove a member. Open the member's profile and remove them. A removed member can't join that OpenChat again until they are unbanned from the ban list in the member settings. Members who left in the past 24 hours can also be removed; the admin and co-admins can't be removed.

The LINE Help Center's OpenChat pages don't mention a mute feature, so these are the tools for spam or abuse. See How many co-admins can a LINE OpenChat have? Setup, permissions and admin transfer for how co-admin permissions work.

Inviting people and leaving: will others know you left?

Inviting: open Invite from the menu at the top of the chat. On a phone you can invite friends, copy the link, share the link or share a QR code; on a PC you can invite friends, copy the link or save the QR code. The page that opens from an invitation link or QR code is created automatically with the OpenChat, and the name, cover image, description and number of participants shown there are public information.

Leaving: open the menu at the top of the chat and choose Leave. According to the LINE Help Center, a system message is posted when a member joins, leaves or is removed; only the admin, not co-admins, can choose to show or hide those messages.

To start your own, see How to create a LINE OpenChat: phone and PC steps, and what to set up first; for how OpenChat differs from a group, see LINE OpenChat vs LINE group: members, anonymity and joining compared.

FAQ

Q: How do I join a LINE OpenChat?

Choose the OpenChat, tap the button to join with a new profile, set the image and nickname you'll use there, tap Join and confirm the notes. If it needs a code, enter the code the admin gave you; if it needs approval, you join once the admin approves your request. If you were invited, tap the invitation message.

Q: Why can't I find an OpenChat in search?

Only OpenChats that allow search appear in the results; the others can only be joined with an invitation link or QR code. OpenChat also cannot be used in LINE for Chrome, and according to the LINE Help Center it is only available in Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand.

Q: Does changing my nickname in an OpenChat change my LINE name?

No. Each OpenChat can have its own profile image and nickname. Change it under Settings and Profile inside that OpenChat and tap Done; only your profile in that OpenChat changes. Only the admin can change the OpenChat's own name, cover image, description and category.

Q: Can you mute someone in a LINE OpenChat?

The LINE Help Center's OpenChat pages don't mention a mute feature. The admin and co-admins with delete permission can delete messages from every member's history, and the admin and co-admins can remove a member, who then can't rejoin unless unbanned. Any member can hide a specific member's messages on their own device, and other members aren't told.

Q: How do I start a thread in an OpenChat?

Press and hold a message, choose Thread and send a message (right-click on a PC). You can't start a thread from a message sent more than 48 hours ago. Taiwan's LINE Help Center says a thread stops accepting messages 2 weeks after it is created; the Japanese and Thai pages say 3 weeks.

Q: Can I cancel a request to join an OpenChat?

Yes, before the admin approves it: open OpenChat from the top of the Chats tab, tap your OpenChats at the bottom right, open the pending tab and tap Cancel. This is not possible in LINE for PC.

Q: Will others know if I leave an OpenChat?

According to the LINE Help Center, a system message is posted when a member leaves. Only the admin can choose to show or hide those messages, so whether others see it depends on the admin's setting. Also, for 24 hours after you leave, the admin or a co-admin can still remove you, and a removed member can't join that OpenChat again.

Q: What is Live talk in a LINE OpenChat, and who can start one?

Live talk is a real-time voice conversation with the members of an OpenChat. According to the LINE Help Center, only the admin and co-admins can start one, and each chat room in the OpenChat, sub-chat rooms included, can have its own. Participants are the host, speakers and listeners; up to 10,000 people can join, with up to 100 speakers including the host, and a Live talk ends automatically after 48 hours. If a Live talk allows non-members, people who aren't members can join as listeners. Under LY Corporation's common terms of use, recording a Live talk and sharing it to OpenChat or other platforms is prohibited.

Sources

LINE Help Center: how OpenChat works (for members) (Traditional Chinese)
LINE Help Center: what is a thread? (OpenChat) (Traditional Chinese)
LINE Help Center: managing OpenChat members (Traditional Chinese)
LINE Help Center: managing messages in OpenChat (Traditional Chinese)
LINE Help Center: managing OpenChat settings (Traditional Chinese)
LINE Help Center: I suddenly became unable to use OpenChat
LINE Help Center: Live talk basics (OpenChat) (Traditional Chinese)
LINE Help Center: can I record a Live talk and share it? (Traditional Chinese)

Platform rules and numbers change; each platform's current official pages prevail. Items marked “News” are media reports, not official statements.

Run your own OpenChat and want more members?

Set the join settings and co-admins first, then combine promotion with a member service; prices and quantities follow the service page.

See LINE OpenChat members