Left a LINE group, then a few days later regretted it? Quit a work or club group on impulse and now want back in?
Whether you can rejoin depends on which type of group you left. This guide splits the 3 types apart and covers the high-search-volume side questions: rejoining after exiting, rejoining a LINE OpenChat, what happens when the group creator leaves.
3 LINE group types — quick reference
| Group type | Can you rejoin yourself? | Do old messages come back? | Will members recognize you? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular group (invite-only) | No — need a member to invite you | No | Usually yes (small groups remember) |
| Public LINE OpenChat | Yes — search and rejoin | Depends on admin setting | Less obvious in large OpenChats |
| Private LINE OpenChat / approval-only | No — admin invite or re-approval | Depends on admin setting | Usually yes |
Unpacked below.
Type 1: Regular LINE group (invite-only)
Regular groups are the most common type — work groups, family groups, class groups, friend groups are almost all this type. You can't rejoin on your own. Two paths:
Path A: A group member invites you from their friend list
Any current member can open the group settings, tap Invite, pick you from their friend list, and send an invite. You'll get a group invite notification on your home screen — accept and you're in.
Path B: An admin shares the invite link or QR code
Group settings can generate an invite link (URL or QR code). The admin shares it with you, you tap it, and you're in.
The difference: Path A is more private — no extra system message for other members (other than the "joined the chat" message when you rejoin). Path B is better for admins who want to invite multiple people at once.
What if you're too embarrassed to ask?
This is the most awkward scenario. "I impulse-quit and want back in, but asking someone to invite me is humiliating" — and the truth is, the rejoin system message ("XXX joined the chat") will appear anyway, so there's no way to hide.
Two practical approaches:
- Ask a member you're close to privately, with a short explanation. Most people won't grill you — the invite happens, the moment passes.
- Accept that it's going to be visible, and rejoin when the group is at its quietest (late at night — people don't scroll back as much, lowest visibility).
Type 2: LINE OpenChat (public)
LINE OpenChat is a different product from regular groups, and public OpenChats can be rejoined directly. Flow:
- Open LINE → tap Chats next to LINE VOOM → OpenChat
- Search for the OpenChat name
- Tap → Join
After rejoining:
- You'll be using the same LINE account with the same avatar — anyone who recognized you before will recognize you again.
- Old messages do not come back — you only see new messages from the moment you rejoin.
- If the admin has enabled "Show chat history to new members," you can scroll up and read past conversations (rare).
This is why "rejoining a LINE OpenChat" gets high search volume in English-speaking communities too — people want to know if they can come back invisibly. Verdict: you can come back, but the "XXX joined the chat" system message still drops in, so a truly invisible rejoin isn't possible.
Type 3: LINE OpenChat (private / approval-only)
If the admin set the OpenChat to private (not searchable) or approval required (tap Join → wait for admin approval), the rejoin flow is closer to a regular group:
- Private: you need the admin to give you an invite link or QR code — without it, you can't get in.
- Approval required: searchable + visible, tap Join → application submitted, admin must approve before you're in.
If you were previously added to that OpenChat's blacklist (e.g., forcibly removed), the same LINE account can't rejoin unless the admin manually removes you from the blacklist.
What happens if the group creator leaves?
A common worry: "If the person who created the group leaves, does the whole group get dissolved?"
No. LINE groups don't have a "group owner" concept — the creator has the same permissions as every other member (the exception is LINE OpenChat, which has an explicit admin role).
- Regular group: after the creator leaves, the group keeps going — other members chat normally, invite new people normally.
- LINE OpenChat: if there's only one admin and they leave, the OpenChat may auto-dissolve or enter an unmanaged state. LINE will prompt to assign a new admin or shut down the OpenChat after a while.
"Creator leaves = group dissolves" is WhatsApp's behavior, not LINE's. They get confused often.
Will people recognize me when I rejoin? Depends on 3 things
"Will everyone notice I came back?" — it depends on:
- Group size: < 20 members = almost always noticed; > 200 members = exit and rejoin messages often get buried.
- How much you used to post: frequent poster → easy to remember; long-time lurker → most members can't even put a face to your name.
- How long between leaving and rejoining: < 1 hour = the two system messages are adjacent, super obvious; > 1 month = hundreds of messages in between, much lower visibility.
How to rejoin without it being awkward — 2 practical tips
- Rejoin during the group's peak chat hours: heavy chat flow pushes "XXX joined the chat" off-screen quickly.
- Post something meaningful right after rejoining: e.g., "Sorry, my phone had an issue and I left the wrong group" — giving people a reason up front is better than getting interrogated later. Don't just lurk silently after rejoining — that makes people wonder why you came back at all.
Left and don't want to rejoin, but worried about missing important info?
If you've already left, don't want to take the hit of rejoining, but worry you'll miss something important — find a trusted group member and ask them to forward important messages to you. Most people won't see it as a burden, especially for work or club groups with concrete tasks.
The real question is usually about "him" or "her"
If you actually left the group because one specific person was leaving you on read, going cold on you, or avoiding you — leaving the group doesn't solve it. The real question is whether they already blocked you one-on-one.
LINE blocks are completely silent — 1-on-1 messages still appear "unread," their avatar still loads, everything looks normal — but nothing reaches them. The only way to confirm is with a tool.
Want to know for sure whether someone blocked you? LINE Block Checker signs in once, scans your entire friend list in 5 seconds, and tells you anonymously who blocked you.
Frequently Asked Questions
After I rejoin a LINE OpenChat, am I treated as a "new member"?
Yes. The system treats you as new, and your "join date" updates to the moment of rejoining. If the OpenChat has settings tied to member tenure (e.g., perks for veterans), those get reset.
Will @-mentions notify me again after rejoining?
Yes. Once you're back in, the notification system runs normally for you, same as any other member.
Can the group creator force me back in?
No. LINE has no "force-add" feature — the creator can only send an invite, and you have to accept. That's why LINE has no "Reject group invite" button — invites just expire if you ignore them.
Is there any chance my old chat history is restored when I rejoin?
Almost certainly not. LINE stores group messages on each member's local device, and yours was wiped when you left. Rejoining is "start from zero," unless the OpenChat has "Show chat history to new members" enabled (rare).
Can I sign into the same account on a second phone to see old group chats?
No. LINE accounts sync at the account level — when one device leaves, every device leaves. The second phone sees the post-exit state too.
Related reading
- LINE Block Checker — find out anonymously who blocked you
- How to leave a LINE group quietly: 2026 complete guide
- Will my chat history survive after I leave a LINE group?
- Does leaving a LINE group notify others? Notifications, visibility, real stories
- LINE group exit not working, auto-exit, or kicked out? Troubleshooting guide