kakaotalk

In the first half of 2026, approximately 450,000 accounts were subject to restrictions in Open Chat, a decrease of approximately 4.6% from the previous six-month period.

Messages, Boards, and Voicerooms

In the first half of 2026, approximately 265K accounts were subject to service restrictions for content in Open Chat messages, boards, and Voicerooms, a decrease of approximately 4.8% compared to the previous half.

“Abusive Language, Hate Speech, Violence, and Hateful Content” accounted for the largest share at 39.2%, followed by “Obscenity and Sexual Content” at 25.2%, “Illegal Spam and Service Disruption” at 21.5%, “Illegal Goods and Services” at 8.9%, “Fraud and Impersonation” at 3.1%, “Investment Advisory and Other Policy Violations” at 1.5%, and “Unauthorized Collection and Disclosure of Personal Information” at 0.6%.

Compared with the previous period, account restrictions decreased by approximately 6.3% for “Abusive Language, Hate Speech, Violence, and Hateful Content,” 13.7% for “Obscenity and Sexual Content,” and 20.5% for “Illegal Spam and Service Disruption.” In contrast, restrictions for “Illegal Goods and Services” increased by approximately 322.1%, while “Fraud and Impersonation” and “Unauthorized Collection and Disclosure of Personal Information” increased by approximately 16.7% and 7.5%, respectively. The share of reported content acted on within one hour reached 98.78%, an improvement of 0.85 percentage points.

Profanity, Hate Speech, Violence, and Hatred accounted for the largest share of violations in Open Chat messages, boards, and Voicerooms. During this half-year period, aggressive expressions arising from discussions or conflicts within chatrooms and communities were repeatedly observed. Personal attacks related to specific topics or groups, hateful or derogatory expressions, and attempts to evade detection using special characters or separated Korean consonants and vowels also continued to be identified. Kakao refined its detailed review criteria for such evasive expressions and violent or threatening language during this period, while the number of accounts subject to restrictions decreased compared to the previous half.

“Obscenity and Sexual Content” primarily involved attempts to initiate sexual conversations, requests for intimate photos, and efforts to direct users to adult content. Slang and emojis also continued to be used to evade detection. Kakao refined its review criteria to address transactions involving potentially sexually exploitative content more clearly under its child and youth protection and sexual content standards.

“Illegal Spam and Service Disruption” primarily involved repeated or coordinated promotional messages advertising gambling and betting sites or directing users to external messaging services and investment-related channels. Kakao refined its guidelines on referral-based sign-up promotions for specific services and the promotion of Open Chat accounts used for sales or consultations. Account restrictions in this category decreased by 20.5%.

The number of accounts restricted for Illegal Goods and Services increased by 322.1% compared to the previous half. This increase is attributed to both an actual rise in such activity and refinements to detailed enforcement criteria for related activities, including illegal exchange and trading of virtual assets, errand services, document forgery, and moneylending advertisements. Kakao also clarified which transactions involving game items, accounts, and in-game currency are restricted under the KakaoTalk Operation Policy. In particular, restrictions related to game item and account transactions showed an upward trend following the policy update in March.

“Fraud and Impersonation” increased by 16.7%. Observed tactics included requests for money under the guise of work-from-home opportunities or simple paid tasks, attempts to persuade users to register on gambling sites, and romance scams. Newly identified tactics—including scams involving purported live broadcasts, kidnapping threats, fraudulent no-show bookings, and demands for money based on fabricated claims of harm—were incorporated into detailed enforcement guidelines.

“Investment Advisory and Other Policy Violations” decreased by 9.6%. Common examples included sharing trading signals in investment chat groups and directing users to external channels. The decline partly reflected a classification change that moved violations involving illegal cryptoasset exchange and trading into “Illegal Goods and Services.” Attempts to attract users to investment chat groups under new names were also observed from June onward, and Kakao will continue to monitor these activities.

Covers, Profiles, and Posts

In the first half of 2026, approximately 183K accounts were subject to service restrictions for content in Open Chat covers, profiles, and posts, a decrease of approximately 4.2% compared to the previous half.

“Obscenity and Sexual Content” accounted for the largest share at 59.4%, followed by “Abusive Language, Hate Speech, Violence, and Hateful Content” at 31.8%, “Illegal Goods and Services” at 5.4%, “Service Disruption” at 2.4%, “Unauthorized Collection and Disclosure of Personal Information” at 0.8%, “Fraud and Impersonation” at 0.2%, and “Investment Advisory and Other Policy Violations” at 0.1%.

Compared with the previous period, account restrictions increased by approximately 361.4% for “Service Disruption,” 260.6% for “Fraud and Impersonation,” and 26.7% for “Illegal Goods and Services.” The large percentage increases in “Service Disruption” and “Fraud and Impersonation” were from relatively small bases. Meanwhile, restrictions decreased by approximately 11.7% for “Obscenity and Sexual Content” and 11.1% for “Unauthorized Collection and Disclosure of Personal Information.” “Abusive Language, Hate Speech, Violence, and Hateful Content” remained broadly in line with the previous period.

The share of actions taken after a report reached 6.47%, an increase of 4.64 percentage points. The share acted on within one hour reached 89.39%, an improvement of 20.75 percentage points. Kakao also continued its external partnerships to protect young users, taking action against 1,471 chatrooms that posed risks to young people through cooperation with the Teen Women's Human Rights Center.

Obscene・Sexual Behavior accounted for the largest share of violations in Open Chat covers, profiles, and posts. Expressions encouraging sexual conversations or encounters were repeatedly observed in chatroom titles and descriptions, as well as Open Profile posts. Attempts to evade detection using slang, emojis, or separated Korean consonants and vowels also persisted. During this half-year period, Kakao refined its detailed review criteria to more clearly address transactions involving potentially sexually exploitative content under its standards for child and youth protection and sexually suggestive content.

“Abusive Language, Hate Speech, Violence, and Hateful Content” primarily involved aggressive expressions in chatroom titles, cover images, and Open Profiles. Titles featuring self-deprecating language or encouraging hostile interactions were also repeatedly observed. Kakao continued to refine its guidelines for expressions designed to evade filters.

“Service Disruption” increased by 361.4%. The increase appears to reflect a rise in promotional content using chatroom titles and Open Profiles to direct users to external websites or channels.

The number of accounts restricted for Illegal Goods and Services increased by 26.7% compared to the previous half. Numerous profiles and chatrooms promoting online game account sales and boosting services were identified. This increase is also believed to partly reflect refinements made during this half-year period to clarify which transactions involving game items, accounts, and in-game currency are restricted under the KakaoTalk Operation Policy.

“Fraud and Impersonation” increased by 260.6%, although the number of restricted accounts remained low compared with other major categories. Profiles using small paid tasks or referral recruitment as bait were among the main examples identified.

The number of accounts restricted for Unauthorized Collection and Disclosure of Personal Information decreased by 11.1% compared to the previous half. However, chatrooms offering to share specific individuals’ personal details or photos continued to be identified, highlighting the need for ongoing monitoring. Disclosing another person’s personal information, such as a phone number, without their consent may be restricted under the Operation Policy, even when intended to prevent fraud or raise awareness.

“Investment Advisory and Other Policy Violations” decreased by 29.4% and remained low. Some profiles continued to promote investment chat groups, offers to recover investment losses, or overseas futures trading.

In the first half of 2026, the overall number of accounts subject to service restrictions in Open Chat decreased slightly, while new patterns of activity emerged in certain categories, including Illegal Goods and Services, Service Disruption, and Fraud and Impersonation. Kakao will continue to analyze report patterns and attempts to evade detection in ways that reflect the characteristics of public and private areas, while maintaining cooperation with external specialist organizations to protect children and youth and refining its detailed enforcement criteria.