Rakuten Viber is a messaging app operated by Viber Media S.à r.l., a Luxembourg-registered subsidiary of Rakuten Group, Inc., a publicly listed (Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market) Japanese conglomerate. Viber's own security page states that one-on-one calls, one-on-one and group messages, private media sharing, and linked devices are end-to-end encrypted by default, but its privacy policy discloses broad collection of device/advertising identifiers and full phone-address-book data retained for the life of the account, and sharing of identifiers, demographic inferences, and location with third-party advertising partners for personalized ads. Apple's App Store privacy label (self-declared by the developer) additionally lists Contacts, Location, Browsing History, and Identifiers as data used to track users across other companies' apps and websites. No regulator action, breach, or lawsuit finding against Viber or Viber Media S.à r.l. was found in this research; the privacy policy asserts general 'strict security measures' without naming an independent audit or publishing a transparency report.
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Viber's privacy policy states that a user's mobile number and full phone address book, submitted at registration, are retained for as long as the account exists; the same policy states that contact information supplied by a user (shared or otherwise) may be added to Viber's Caller ID database and used for caller identification.
Apple's App Store privacy label, self-declared by the developer (Viber Media SARL), discloses that data — including Contacts, Coarse Location, Contact Info, User Content, Identifiers (Device ID, User ID), and Usage Data — is collected and linked to the user's identity, used for purposes including Third-Party Advertising, the developer's own Advertising or Marketing, Analytics, and App Functionality.
Viber's privacy policy identifies Rakuten Group Inc. as Viber's parent company (Viber's collecting affiliates are described as the 'Viber corporate family, including our parent company'), and separately names the operating entity as Viber Media S.à r.l., a Luxembourg-registered company that serves as the contact point for Viber's Data Privacy Officer.
Rakuten Group, Inc.'s investor-relations site groups its stock and dividend information under a 'Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market' heading, corroborating that Viber's ultimate parent is a publicly listed company subject to Japanese exchange disclosure requirements.
Viber's privacy policy states that device/advertising identifiers, age range, inferred gender, and reduced IP address (or, with permission, GPS location) are shared with third-party advertising partners for the purpose of presenting personalized ads.
Viber's security page states that one-on-one calls, one-on-one and group messages, and private media sharing are protected by end-to-end encryption by default and that nothing shared is stored on Viber's servers once delivered, limiting what the operator itself could share of message content (the privacy policy separately permits disclosure of address-book and activity metadata to law enforcement without compromising that encryption).
Viber's privacy policy states in general terms that it has 'strict security measures' to protect account and personal data, but does not name an independent audit firm, publish a transparency report with request counts, or reference a funded bug-bounty program; no regulatory action, breach disclosure, or adverse lawsuit finding against Viber or Viber Media S.à r.l. was found during this research.
The same App Store privacy label discloses a 'Data Used to Track You' category — Location, Contact Info, Browsing History, and Identifiers — meaning Apple's label indicates this data may be used to track the user across apps and websites owned by companies other than Viber/Rakuten, not solely for first-party analytics.
Viber's privacy policy's 'Cookies and Tracking Technologies' section discloses collection of device identifiers used to distinguish devices and support advertising: IP address, hashed phone numbers/emails, advertising-related identifiers, and MAC identifiers.