It’s no secret that LINE is the messaging app to watch this year. Two weeks ago, the Japanese messaging app achieved a tremendously successful IPO, the biggest of 2016, amidst tons of buzz from the tech industry.

Prior to going public, some expressed concerned that LINE already peaked, asmonthly active users growth has slowed to a crawl over the past few years. 

It seemed obvious to me that in order for LINE to succeed in the public market, it must be actively addressing customer retention in their product somehow. So I decided to dig a little bit deeper.

Comparing screenshots of LINE from 2014 with LINE today, I found that LINE has made few drastic updates to its core messaging service, but instead has focused on its user onboarding experience.

Given the continuing debates of whether or not LINE is worth its valuation, who knows what its IPO would have looked like if it hadn’t improved its user onboarding?