네이버 밴드 (Naver Band)
Platform · this deep dive is built from the official pages of the platform itself and of the tools that support it.
Overview
BAND (밴드, also known as Naver Band) is an app for closed groups from the South Korean NAVER Corp.: the company is named as a party to the contract in the terms of service and as the seller in the App Store listing.
The unit here is not a feed but a "band" — a group with its own membership. The page about the service lists its tools: posts, calendar, chat, files and media, polls, live broadcasts, administrator rights, school mode. A public storefront with followers is a separate type of object, the "Page", where only the administrator publishes (terms of service). Hence the main point for social media work: BAND is a tool for retaining a community you have already gathered, not a channel for cold reach.
Who's here
On the page about the service the platform reports 100 million downloads, more than 8 million "leaders" (BAND's term for group creators) and 179 countries. No date is given for these figures; this is the platform's statement about itself, not an independent measurement.
Android is measured separately: the Google Play page shows more than 50 million downloads, a rating of 4.8 and 758,000 reviews, the developer NAVER Corp. and an update of 27 July 2026. The store counts only its own installs, so the discrepancy with the 100 million is to be expected.
Languages: BAND writes about eight (band.us/about), while the App Store lists nine — including Korean, Japanese, English, Spanish, Indonesian, Thai and Russian.
Getting started
The terms of service require 13 years of age for BAND and set a range of 3–12 years for the separate BAND for Kids app. Sign-in is on a separate domain: e-mail, phone number, Google, Facebook (auth.band.us). Accounts on temporary numbers and disposable e-mail addresses may be restricted, and machine registration is prohibited (operating policy).
The group type is chosen at creation and determines everything else: secret (not in search, entry by invitation), closed (the name and description are searchable), public (posts and comments are indexed) and the "Page" (terms of service). Public bands are visible both in the internal search and in NAVER search.
There is no separate business account in the documents: the administrator takes that role, and in commercial transactions they are obliged to publish the seller's details in the band — the shop name, the representative's name, address, phone, e-mail, the company registration number and the terms (operating policy).
What you can publish
A post is a container, not a line: the Google Play listing describes photos and video, calendar events, polls, task lists, challenges and live streams inside a single post. There are read receipts: the administrator sees who opened a message (the page about posts).
Storage works in an unusual way. Capacity is granted to a band according to its activity, and old attachments may be deleted to free up space (terms of service). With the "keep the entire chat history" option enabled, the correspondence is stored on the server for one year (operating policy).
Prohibited are false data at registration, collecting members' personal data, impersonating a company, pornography and violence, commercial use of the service without the platform's consent (terms of service), as well as hate speech on the grounds of ethnicity, religion, gender, orientation, disability or illness (operating policy).
How to grow
The only mechanism of external visibility the platform describes is the public band type and indexing in BAND and NAVER search (terms of service). There is no description of a recommendation algorithm for the feed in the open sections, so there will be no statements about one here.
Advertising runs through the 밴드 파트너센터 (Band Partner Center) account. Its introductory page names three product groups: social advertising (band promotion, post promotion, rewarded ads with stickers); notification advertising (notifications about new entries to members and followers, push); and display advertising — the "smart channel", the feed and the completion screen, which are bought through NAVER's unified advertising account. The pages with formats and prices are closed behind authorisation.
Path to monetization
BAND has no payouts to creators for views: no such mechanism appears either in the terms of service or in the description of paid services. The money moves the other way: users buy stickers, extra storage for a band (100 GB for 6 months or for a year) and AD FREE — turning advertising off, on Android as a 30-day subscription with a recurring payment, on iOS only as a 30-day subscription (same source). The prices are in the App Store listing: a sticker $1.99, AD FREE $1.99, 100 GB for 6 months $16.99, for a year $33.99.
An administrator can collect money themselves: the terms of service allow you to create a post and offer members payment through Stripe — and immediately stipulate that disputes and refunds are settled without NAVER's involvement.
Tools and automation
There is an official API: the developer site names the BAND Open API and the "Share to BAND" button. The API overview lists the methods — OAuth token, profile, list of bands, posts, creating and deleting a post, working with comments, checking permissions, albums and photos. The key is issued after registering an application in the My Apps section (same source).
Publishing: POST to https://openapi.band.us/v2.2/band/post/create, with the required parameters access_token, band_key, content, and the optional do_push controlling the notification (the method's documentation). There are no attachments in the parameter list — publishing photos and video through this method is not described.
The platform terms warn that the company is entitled to introduce restrictions on time and on the number of calls, and that going beyond the limit requires approval. There are no numeric values there.
Limits and rules
The only numeric threshold in the open documents: for a band with more than five thousand members, changing the name and description is restricted — you need to file a request with the service, and it is considered on the basis of one change per six months. The same document describes the transfer of administrator rights in the absence of sign-ins: 3 months if there are co-administrators, and 1 month if the administrator is the only one (operating policy).
If advertising causes inconvenience to users, sanctions fall both on whoever placed it and on the band that allowed it — with a reference to article 50-7 of the Korean Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization. Moderation has two levels: the administrator answers first, and if they do nothing they may themselves be stripped of their rights; automatic filtering is applied to all content (same source).
"Mechanical activity" and circumventing technical protection measures are grounds for immediate deletion of the account, and purchased benefits are forfeited without compensation (terms of service). Separate privacy policies apply to children in the United States and to school use in the United States (help centre).
Who it's for
BAND makes sense where the group already exists and needs to be kept informed: a class and a parents' committee, a sports team, a course, a network of outlets, field crews — these are the scenarios the platform puts in the section on use cases.
BAND is not suitable if you need organic growth of reach into an unfamiliar audience: apart from the indexing of public bands, all promotion is paid. For markets outside Korea, assess it soberly — the app has many languages, but there is no platform-confirmed data on audience size by country.
Verified data
The checked data this deep dive rests on.
About the platform
the platform describes itself as: «Where Leaders Communicate Better»
This is the platform's statement about itself, not an independent assessment
source, checked 2026-07-28
the service operator is NAVER Corp. (Republic of Korea); the company is named as a party to the terms of service
The terms open in a browser, the text is loaded by script
source, checked 2026-07-28
the basic unit is the «band» (group); a separate type of object is the «Page», where only the administrator publishes
Section on band types
source, checked 2026-07-28
Who's here
the platform reports 100 million downloads; the date it was counted on is not stated
The platform's claim about itself, not an independent measurement
source, checked 2026-07-28
the platform reports more than 8 million «leaders» (group creators and administrators); no date is stated
The platform's claim about itself
source, checked 2026-07-28
the platform reports a presence in 179 countries; no date is stated
The platform's claim about itself
source, checked 2026-07-28
Google Play reports more than 50 million downloads of the Android app
Google store data, Android only
source, checked 2026-07-28
Google Play shows a rating of 4.8 and 758,000 reviews
Store data as of 2026-07-28
source, checked 2026-07-28
Getting started
the minimum age for BAND and related services is 13; for BAND for Kids it is 3 to 12
Section on entering into the contract
source, checked 2026-07-28
Account and access
«To prevent misuse of the service, Band limits the number of sign-ups and account links (verifications) within a certain time period» (verbatim). Further: if you register again with the same details straight after deleting an account, or link the same details to another account, «the account may take time to create or you may experience some restrictions» (verbatim)
The main site band.us was not read: its robots.txt forbids ClaudeBot and Claude-SearchBot in a separate block («Disallow: /»). The help subdomain help.band.us allows crawling entirely («User-agent: * / Allow: /»), and only it was read
source, checked 2026-08-07
By itself, by trying again: «If you see a message indicating a restriction, please try again the following day» (verbatim); if it has not cleared within 48 hours — «please contact the BAND Help Center with the account information you used when attempting to sign up or register» (verbatim)
The condition is named by the platform outright; separately BAND describes restrictions for breaches of the Activity Policy, where the length of the restriction is shown to the user when they try to sign in or post something
source, checked 2026-08-07
Two periods are named: try again «the following day» and the threshold for contacting support — «If the issue isn’t resolved within 48 hours»
The limit itself is described as «within a certain time period» with no figure; the specific 48 hours refer to when it is time to write to support
source, checked 2026-08-07
sign-in by e-mail, by phone number, via Google and via Facebook
The sign-in page was opened in a browser
source, checked 2026-07-28
four types: secret, closed, public and the «Page»
Section on band types
source, checked 2026-07-28
Business terms
in commercial transactions and group purchases the administrator is obliged to publish the seller's details in the band: shop name, representative's name, address, phone, e-mail, company registration number and terms
There is no separate «business account» as an entity in the documents
source, checked 2026-07-28
What you can publish
The limits are given separately by kind of attachment: video in a post — "up to 3GB and 60 minutes each", that is, no longer than 60 minutes; video in a quiz question — "A video file shorter than 30 minutes"; a voice memo — "Voice Memo: You can attach 10 voice memos per post, up to 30 minutes each". A live stream — "You can live stream on BAND for up to 2 hours per session, and there’s no limit to the number of times you can go live". For video in a chat only the size is announced (less than 1 GB), the duration is not named
the live stream — https://help.band.us/help/1256 and https://help.band.us/help/1222 ("You can live stream for up to 2 hours. However, after finishing live streaming, you can start another live stream for up to 2 hours again")
source, checked 2026-08-04
The limits per one post are listed one by one: "Photo: Up to 100 photos per post, and 5 photos per comment"; "Video: Up to 10 videos can be attached per post, up to 3GB and 60 minutes each"; "File: Up to 5 files can be attached per post, no more than 1GB each"; a poll — 10 per post, up to 50 options; a sign-up sheet — 10; a to-do list — 10; a quiz — 10, up to 50 questions; a survey — 10, up to 50 questions; a voice memo — 10; a bill for a company — one; markup — five; a place, a link and stickers — "No limit". In a chat per one message: up to 30 photos, one video smaller than 1 GB, up to 5 files no more than 100 MB each. There is no general limit: "There is no total limit on storage or number of posts you can create in a BAND", but storage is restricted: photos and videos shorter than 3 minutes "will be stored permanently", while "Large-size videos (over 3 minutes) and files under 10MB will be stored permanently within storage capacity", when the space is filled up "Old attachments will be deleted", and additional space is bought in the application
the storage period depends on the duration of the video and on the volume purchased — https://help.band.us/help/1077 ; the chat limits — https://help.band.us/help/1028
source, checked 2026-08-04
Text length. The only announced limit on the length of text relates to a poll inside a post: "Poll: You can attach 10 polls per post, up to 50 options per poll, and up to 200 characters for the title and option titles" — up to 200 characters for the title of the poll and for the title of each option. The help centre names no limit on the length of the post itself, of a comment or of a message in a chat
the number 200 is announced only for a poll; for a post and a comment there is no number either in the article about attachments or in the article about chats https://help.band.us/help/1028
source, checked 2026-08-04
Images. The help centre names no formats, resolution or size of a single photo — only the quantities and the way to control the size are named: "Photo: Up to 100 photos per post, and 5 photos per comment can be attached (the attached image size can be altered in the Band (Settings) > (Photo and Video) > (Upload Size))", that is, the size of an uploaded photo is set by the group itself through the "Upload Size" setting. In a chat there is a separate limit: "Photos – Up to 30 images (sent as a bundle or individually downloadable)"
the limit on the size of a photo depends on the group's setting, the platform publishes no single figure; the chat limits — https://help.band.us/help/1028
source, checked 2026-08-04
Video. The help centre names neither formats, nor codecs, nor a resolution — only a size and a number. In a post: "Video: Up to 10 videos can be attached per post, up to 3GB and 60 minutes each". In a chat: "Videos – 1 video (must be under 1GB)". In a quiz question there is a restriction of its own: "A video file shorter than 30 minutes / an audio file less than 10MB / a file less than 50MB or less". Separately a prohibition is stipulated: "Attachment of APK files are not supported and you will not be able to attach clips from movies or copyrighted music files due to copyright issues"
the limits are different for a post, a chat and a quiz; the platform does not publish codecs and a resolution; the chat — https://help.band.us/help/1028
source, checked 2026-08-04
Audio is an independent kind of attachment, but the help centre sets no requirements for the file (a format, a codec, a bit rate), only a quantity and a duration: "Voice Memo: You can attach 10 voice memos per post, up to 30 minutes each". For audio inside a quiz question a size is set: "an audio file less than 10MB"
there are numbers, but the platform does not name a format and a codec
source, checked 2026-08-04
The help centre does not publish numerical requirements for the signal (a bit rate, a resolution, a codec, a protocol). Only the conditions are announced: the duration "up to 2 hours per session", the number of live streams is not limited, "only one live stream can be streamed at a time in the same Band"; the right to run a live stream is granted by the group setting "Band Settings > Member Permissions > Live Streaming" with the options "Admin / Admin & Co-Admins / Anyone"; from a phone the live stream goes out from the application itself, while "on PC, you’ll need to install an encoder and connect it to your Band before you can go live"; in order to start and save a live stream, "you need at least 2GB of storage space on your device"
the possibility of running a live stream depends on the rights granted by the owner of the group; the requirement of 2 GB — https://help.band.us/help/1226 ; about the encoder — https://help.band.us/help/1254 ; IMPORTANT: the robots.txt of the band.us site itself directly disallows crawling to the ClaudeBot and Claude-SearchBot robots ("Disallow: /"), therefore the pages of band.us were not read at all; the help centre help.band.us is a separate node with its own robots.txt "User-agent: * / Allow: /", and only it was read
source, checked 2026-08-04
Content
a single post can contain photos and video, a calendar event, a poll, a task list, a challenge, a live broadcast; read receipts are available for posts
The app description on Google Play; read receipts are also described at band.us/about/features/post
source, checked 2026-07-28
Promotion
public bands and their content are shown in BAND search and in NAVER search
The only channel of external organic visibility described by the platform itself
source, checked 2026-07-28
Advertising
the advertising account is «밴드 파트너센터» (Band Partner Center), entered with a BAND account
The account's introductory page opens without authorisation
source, checked 2026-07-28
three product groups: social advertising (band promotion, post promotion, rewarded ads with stickers), notification advertising (notifications and push), display advertising (smart channel, feed, completion screen)
Display advertising is bought through NAVER's unified advertising account
source, checked 2026-07-28
prices and formats of the advertising products are available only after signing in with a BAND account
Going to a product page redirects to the sign-in form
source, checked 2026-07-28
How the money works here
a band administrator is entitled to create a post and offer members payment through Stripe; disputes and refunds are settled without NAVER's involvement
Section on administrator rights
source, checked 2026-07-28
Paid subscriptions
three paid products: stickers, extra storage for a band (100 GB for 6 months or 100 GB for a year), AD FREE (Android — a 30-day subscription with a recurring payment, iOS — only a 30-day subscription)
Section «Purchase and Usage Period of Paid Product»
source, checked 2026-07-28
storage and AD FREE can be refunded within 7 days starting the day after payment, after which a partial refund is given less the period used; a downloaded paid sticker is non-refundable
Section «Cancellation of Paid Product»
source, checked 2026-07-28
Pricing
App Store prices: a sticker $1.99, AD FREE for 30 days $1.99, 100 GB for 6 months $16.99, 100 GB for a year $33.99
The in-app purchase list in the App Store listing, prices for the US storefront
source, checked 2026-07-28
Limits and restrictions
for a band with more than 5000 members, changing the name and description is restricted: a request to the service, considered on the basis of one change per six months
The only numeric threshold found in the open documents
source, checked 2026-07-28
administrator rights may be transferred in the absence of sign-ins: 3 months for a band with co-administrators, 1 month for a band with a single administrator
Section on autonomous band management
source, checked 2026-07-28
with the option to keep the entire chat history enabled, the correspondence is stored on the server for one year and can be exported by administrators
Messages deleted by the sender, hidden messages and those sent for moderation are excluded
source, checked 2026-07-28
storage capacity is granted to a band according to its activity; old attachments may be deleted to free up space; the documents give no numeric base capacity
The numeric value of the base capacity was not found
source, checked 2026-07-28
Restrictions
«mechanical activity» and circumventing the service's technical protection measures are grounds for immediate permanent deletion of the account without compensation for purchased benefits
Section on restricting use of the service
source, checked 2026-07-28
machine registration and machine sign-in are prohibited; accounts on temporary numbers and disposable e-mail addresses may be restricted
Section «Safe BAND»
source, checked 2026-07-28
for advertising that causes inconvenience to users, sanctions fall both on the user who placed it and on the band that allowed it (with a reference to art. 50-7 of the Korean Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization)
Two-level moderation: first the band administrator, then the service
source, checked 2026-07-28
API access
an official BAND Open API and a «Share to BAND» button; application registration in the My Apps section
Home page of the developer site
source, checked 2026-07-28
Ways to earn. API methods: OAuth token, user profile, list of bands, posts, creating and deleting a post, reading/creating/deleting a comment, checking permissions, albums and photos, error handling
Table of contents of the developer guide
source, checked 2026-07-28
publishing a post: POST https://openapi.band.us/v2.2/band/post/create, required parameters access_token, band_key, content; optional do_push; attachments are not described among the parameters
There are no numeric limits on the method page
source, checked 2026-07-28
the platform reserves the right to introduce restrictions on time and on the number of calls and to change them with prior notice; there are no numeric values in the open documentation
Clause 6 of the BAND platform terms
source, checked 2026-07-28
Languages
the interface language of the home page: en
The language is taken from the markup attribute, the versions from hreflang
source, checked 2026-07-28
the App Store lists 9 app languages: English, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Thai, Traditional Chinese
On its own page about the service the platform names 8 languages — the discrepancy is recorded
source, checked 2026-07-28
the developer site switches between three languages: Korean, English, Traditional Chinese
Language switcher in the page markup
source, checked 2026-07-28
Catalogue section: all similar See also: catalogue index · region: South Korea · scheduler comparison · find by situation · platform restrictions