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Is Rakuten Viber Messenger Safe?

Rakuten Viber Messenger privacy label · by Viber Media SARL. · checked November 2026

  • Tracks you
  • Collects location
  • Recently updated
App Privacy label Developer-reported · checked November 1, 2026
Short answer

It depends on how you feel about tracking: Rakuten Viber Messenger declares data used to track you. The sensitive items are sensitive info, location, contacts, user content and browsing history. In total the label lists 10 data types; 14% of secure messengers we checked declare tracking.

At a glance

Rakuten Viber Messenger privacy in one look

Data exposure on the label
Used to track you
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4

Built only from the developer's App Store label. It describes disclosure, not tested behaviour.

Verdict from the label
Tracks you

Rakuten Viber Messenger's developer reports using location, contact info, browsing history, identifiers to track you across other companies' apps and websites.

Try it

Did Rakuten Viber Messenger ask for something?

Pick the permission prompt you saw. We compare it with what Rakuten Viber Messenger's developer declared.

It asked me for access to…
Tap a prompt to compare it with the label.
Matches the label

Rakuten Viber Messenger lists Location on its label, including for tracking. Choose While Using and turn off Precise Location if the feature works without it.

Matches the label

Rakuten Viber Messenger lists User Content on its label, linked to you. Choose Limited Access and pick only the photos you want to share.

Matches the label

Rakuten Viber Messenger lists Contacts on its label, linked to you. Limited Access shares selected contacts instead of your whole address book.

Expected — and you can decline

Rakuten Viber Messenger declares data used to track you, so expect the “Allow to track?” prompt. Tap Ask App Not to Track; the app must keep working without it.

Not on the label

Health & Fitness is not on Rakuten Viber Messenger's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.

A permission is what the app can reach on your iPhone; the label is what the developer says leaves it. They answer different questions.

Line by line

What Rakuten Viber Messenger collects, explained

Data typeWhat it coversWhere to limit it
Sensitive InfoSensitiveLinked to you Racial or ethnic data, sexual orientation, pregnancy, disability, beliefs, union membership, genetic or biometric data. Share only what the app needs and check whether the label lists this data as linked to you.
LocationSensitiveUsed to track youLinked to you Where your phone is, either precisely (street level) or approximately (city or area). Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services: choose Never or While Using, and turn off Precise Location if the app does not need it.
ContactsSensitiveLinked to you The people in your address book or social graph. Settings › Privacy & Security › Contacts: choose Limited Access to share only selected people, or None.
User ContentSensitiveLinked to you Messages, photos, videos, audio recordings, documents and support chats you create or upload. Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos: choose Limited Access or None; review Microphone and Files access too.
Browsing HistorySensitiveUsed to track youLinked to you Websites and other content you viewed that is not part of the app. In browsers, use private tabs and clear history; Settings › Apps › Safari has Safari's own controls.
Contact InfoUsed to track youLinked to you Your name, email address, phone number or postal address. Use Sign in with Apple with Hide My Email where offered, and check the app's account and marketing preferences.
PurchasesLinked to you What you have bought or tend to buy. Review in-app marketing settings; subscriptions are listed in Settings › [your name] › Subscriptions.
IdentifiersUsed to track youLinked to you An account ID, screen name, customer number or a device-level ID such as the advertising identifier. Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking: turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track, or tap Ask App Not to Track when prompted.
Usage DataLinked to youNot linked to you What you tap, open and view inside the app, plus which ads you have seen. There is no single iOS switch. Look for an analytics or personalised-ads toggle in the app's own settings.
DiagnosticsNot linked to you Crash logs, launch times, hang rates and energy use. Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements › Share With App Developers controls what Apple passes on; the app's own crash reporting is separate.
Reading the label

What Rakuten Viber Messenger's label means for you

Rakuten Viber Messenger's label has 4 types under “Data Used to Track You”, 9 types under “Data Linked to You”, 2 types under “Data Not Linked to You”. A data type can appear in more than one section when it is used for different purposes — for example, identifiers used for both analytics and advertising.

Tracking is the declaration that most separates apps. It means location, contact info, browsing history, identifiers from Rakuten Viber Messenger can be combined with data from other companies to target or measure ads, or shared with data brokers. On iOS 14.5 and later, the app must ask your permission before tracking you through the advertising identifier; answering “Ask App Not to Track” blocks that identifier and tells the developer you have declined.

The items that deserve the most attention are sensitive info, location, contacts, user content and browsing history. These are the categories data-protection laws treat as special. Few apps need them.

Messengers see who you talk to as well as what you say. Even with end-to-end encrypted content, contact lists and metadata can be collected and linked to you. Check whether contact upload is optional, whether backups are encrypted too, and whether disappearing messages exist.

Among the 172 secure messengers in our snapshot with a label, 14% declare tracking, 54% collect data linked to you and 29% say they collect nothing. Rakuten Viber Messenger lists 10 data types, more than the average of 2.8 for this group.

Social apps are built around identity and contacts, so data linked to you is nearly universal. Tracking and contact upload are the settings worth checking.

On your iPhone

Settings to check for Rakuten Viber Messenger

  1. 1

    Tracking

    Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking. If “Allow Apps to Request to Track” is off, apps cannot ask, and they are told to treat you as having declined. You can also turn it off for this app alone.

  2. 2

    Location

    Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Rakuten Viber Messenger. Choose While Using or Never, and switch off Precise Location if a city-level answer is enough.

  3. 3

    Photos

    Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos. Limited Access lets you pick exactly which pictures the app can see; Add Photos Only lets it save without reading your library.

  4. 4

    Contacts

    Settings › Privacy & Security › Contacts. Limited Access shares only the people you select instead of your whole address book.

  5. 5

    Microphone & camera

    Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone and Camera. The orange and green dots in the status bar show when either is in use.

  6. 6

    Sign-in

    When creating an account, Sign in with Apple can give the app a relay address from Hide My Email instead of your real one.

Cross-app tracking

Does Rakuten Viber Messenger track you?

Yes — 4 data types

Location, contact info, browsing history and identifiers. Apple defines tracking as linking data from this app with data from other companies' apps, websites or offline sources for targeted advertising or ad measurement, or sharing it with a data broker.

Does Rakuten Viber Messenger track you? Full answer and how to stop it →

iOS 18 and later

Lock Rakuten Viber Messenger behind Face ID

  1. Find Rakuten Viber Messenger on your Home Screen or in App Library.
  2. Touch and hold the icon until the quick-actions menu opens.
  3. Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID / Require Passcode, depending on your iPhone).
  4. Tap Require Face ID again to confirm. Rakuten Viber Messenger now asks for authentication every time it opens.

The lock is an iPhone feature, so it works whether or not Rakuten Viber Messenger has a passcode of its own. It does not change what the app sends to its developer.

Lock or hide Rakuten Viber Messenger: step-by-step guide →

From the App Store record

About Rakuten Viber Messenger

DeveloperViber Media SARL.
App Store categorySocial Networking (also Lifestyle)
Latest version29.3.0, released October 2026
First releasedDecember 2010
RequiresiOS 16.4 or later
Size432 MB
Age rating12+
Languages32 (AR, BE, BG, HR, CS, DA, NL, EN…)
Bundle IDcom.viber

The current version shipped in October 2026, so the app is actively maintained and its label is likely current. Labels are updated by developers when practices change.

Read with care

What the label cannot tell you

  • A label is self-reported. Apple publishes the developer's answers and can reject apps that misrepresent them, but it does not independently verify what Rakuten Viber Messenger sends.
  • It does not say where data is stored, how long it is kept, whether it is encrypted, or which companies receive it. The privacy policy covers those points.
  • Optional data counts: if a feature lets you add something (a profile photo, a phone number), the type is listed even if you never use the feature.
  • Data handled only on your iPhone is not 'collected', so a no-collection label is compatible with an app that reads your files locally.
  • Third-party sign-in, payment processors and SDKs are supposed to be included, but a label can lag behind a new version.

The question to ask Rakuten Viber Messenger's developer: Is the message content end-to-end encrypted by default, including backups?

How it compares

Rakuten Viber Messenger vs similar secure messengers

Data types listed on each App Store privacy label
Tracks youLinked to youNot linkedCollects nothing

Fewer types is not automatically safer: a cloud backup app has to collect your files to work. Compare like with like.

Checking another app?

Look up any of our apps in seconds, or put two labels side by side.

Keep exploring

Apps similar to Rakuten Viber Messenger

All secure messengers → Who tracks you? A–Z → Apps that collect sensitive info → Privacy label decoder →

Do it now

Your Rakuten Viber Messenger privacy checklist

Tick what you have done
Tick each step as you do it on your iPhone.

Done. You have applied every control the label points to.

Quick quiz

True or false?

  1. Q1Rakuten Viber Messenger's privacy label says it uses data to track you.
    Right.
    Not quite.

    True: it lists location, contact info, browsing history and identifiers under Data Used to Track You.

  2. Q2Apple tests every app to confirm its privacy label is accurate.
    Right.
    Not quite.

    Labels are self-reported by developers. Apple can reject or remove apps that misrepresent practices, but it does not audit each label.

  3. Q3Rakuten Viber Messenger collects Sensitive Info.
    Right.
    Not quite.

    True: Sensitive Info appears on its label.

  4. Q4Data “Not Linked to You” is never sent off your iPhone.
    Right.
    Not quite.

    It is collected and sent; the developer says it is de-identified rather than tied to your account or device.

  5. Q5Tapping “Ask App Not to Track” can stop an app from working.
    Right.
    Not quite.

    Apple's rules require apps to work the same whether or not you allow tracking.

Questions people ask

Rakuten Viber Messenger privacy FAQ

Is Rakuten Viber Messenger safe to use?
Based on its App Store privacy label, rakuten Viber Messenger's developer reports using location, contact info, browsing history, identifiers to track you across other companies' apps and websites. Whether that is acceptable depends on what you will store in it. The label is developer-reported, not an independent security test.
Does Rakuten Viber Messenger track you?
Yes. Its label lists location, contact info, browsing history and identifiers under Data Used to Track You. You can decline at the iOS tracking prompt.
What data does Rakuten Viber Messenger collect?
Sensitive info, location, contacts, user content, browsing history, contact info, purchases, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics. Of these, sensitive info, location, contacts, user content, browsing history, contact info, purchases, identifiers and usage data are linked to your identity.
Who makes Rakuten Viber Messenger?
Viber Media SARL., according to the App Store. It was first released in December 2010 and the current version is 29.3.0.
Can I lock Rakuten Viber Messenger with Face ID?
On iOS 18 or later, touch and hold Rakuten Viber Messenger's icon and choose Require Face ID (or Touch ID / Passcode). This is an iPhone feature and works for most downloaded apps, whether or not the app has its own lock.
How does Rakuten Viber Messenger compare with other secure messengers?
Across 172 secure messengers with labels in our snapshot, 14% declare tracking and 29% say they collect no data. Rakuten Viber Messenger lists 10 data types against an average of 2.8.
Is the message content end-to-end encrypted by default, including backups?
The privacy label cannot answer that. Look for it in Rakuten Viber Messenger's privacy policy or support pages, linked from the App Store listing. Check whether contact upload is optional, whether backups are encrypted too, and whether disappearing messages exist.
How do I delete my data from Rakuten Viber Messenger?
Apps that let you create an account must also let you start account deletion from inside the app (an App Store rule since June 2022). Deleting the app from your iPhone alone does not delete data already sent to the developer.
Facts on this page come from Rakuten Viber Messenger on the App Store, as reported by the developer. Checked 2026-11-01. How we collect data · Report a correction