diff --git a/data/tables/messaging-channels.json b/data/tables/messaging-channels.json
index 6b505cb50..cfd2b784e 100644
--- a/data/tables/messaging-channels.json
+++ b/data/tables/messaging-channels.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
  "meta": {
   "title": "Messaging & App Channels",
   "grain": "one row per country x communication app",
-  "why": "Referral stats (StatCounter) structurally cannot see messaging apps. Measured here: WhatsApp is the top messaging app in 54 countries, Telegram in 38 — neither appears in referral share at all.",
+  "why": "Referral stats (StatCounter) structurally cannot see messaging apps. Measured here: WhatsApp (Messenger or Business) is the top messaging app in 73 countries, Telegram in 38 — neither appears in referral share at all.",
   "ios_caveat": "iOS ONLY. Most of these countries are Android-majority and Google publishes no keyless equivalent, so this is one eye open. An app absent here is NOT absent in-country. 50 of 175 countries have no Apple storefront.",
   "ranking_caveat": "A top-free RANK is most-DOWNLOADED recently, not most-used.",
   "classification_caveat": "kind is a name-keyword HEURISTIC over a known list, not a verified taxonomy.",
@@ -2830,19 +2830,6 @@
    "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
    "source": "Apple App Store RSS — top free apps by country"
   },
-  {
-   "country": "Thailand",
-   "iso3": "THA",
-   "region": "Asia",
-   "app": "LINE MAN: Food Delivery & more",
-   "kind": "messaging",
-   "rank": 13,
-   "is_top_messaging": true,
-   "people_groups": 8,
-   "platform_bias": "iOS only — most of these countries are Android-majority; absence here is not absence in-country",
-   "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
-   "source": "Apple App Store RSS — top free apps by country"
-  },
   {
    "country": "Burkina Faso",
    "iso3": "BFA",
@@ -3006,7 +2993,7 @@
    "app": "WhatsApp Messenger",
    "kind": "messaging",
    "rank": 37,
-   "is_top_messaging": false,
+   "is_top_messaging": true,
    "people_groups": 8,
    "platform_bias": "iOS only — most of these countries are Android-majority; absence here is not absence in-country",
    "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
@@ -7809,19 +7796,6 @@
    "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
    "source": "Apple App Store RSS — top free apps by country"
   },
-  {
-   "country": "Maldives",
-   "iso3": "MDV",
-   "region": "Asia",
-   "app": "Malé Taxi Line",
-   "kind": "messaging",
-   "rank": 1,
-   "is_top_messaging": true,
-   "people_groups": 1,
-   "platform_bias": "iOS only — most of these countries are Android-majority; absence here is not absence in-country",
-   "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
-   "source": "Apple App Store RSS — top free apps by country"
-  },
   {
    "country": "Northern Mariana Islands",
    "iso3": "MNP",
@@ -13120,7 +13094,7 @@
    "app": "WhatsApp Messenger",
    "kind": "messaging",
    "rank": 33,
-   "is_top_messaging": false,
+   "is_top_messaging": true,
    "people_groups": 1,
    "platform_bias": "iOS only — most of these countries are Android-majority; absence here is not absence in-country",
    "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
diff --git a/library/scripts/research/app-kind.mjs b/library/scripts/research/app-kind.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..74008e106
--- /dev/null
+++ b/library/scripts/research/app-kind.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+// app-kind.mjs — what KIND of communication channel an App Store app is, from its name.
+//
+// A NAME-AND-KEYWORD HEURISTIC over a known list, recorded as such in every table that uses it.
+// It lives in its own file so the fetcher (fetch-top-apps.mjs) and the table builder
+// (build-tabulator-tables.mjs) classify with the SAME rule: the builder re-derives the kind from
+// the stored name, so a cached fetch made with an older rule cannot carry an old answer forward.
+//
+// ★ A BRAND THAT IS ALSO AN ENGLISH WORD MUST BE ANCHORED. `line` matched as a bare word made
+// "LINE MAN: Food Delivery & more" (Thailand) and "Malé Taxi Line" (Maldives) each country's TOP
+// messaging app, ahead of WhatsApp. LINE's own app is "LINE" or "LINE: Calls & Messages", so it
+// matches only as the whole name or the name before a colon.
+export const KIND = [
+  [/\b(whatsapp|telegram|signal|viber|imo|zalo|wechat|weixin|kakaotalk|botim|imessage|messenger|skype|hike|jio ?chat|soul|beetalk)\b|^line(?:$|\s*:)/i, 'messaging'],
+  [/\b(tiktok|douyin|kwai|likee|snack ?video|moj|josh|triller|reels)\b/i, 'short-video'],
+  [/\b(facebook|instagram|snapchat|x|twitter|threads|vk|odnoklassniki|weibo|qzone|xiaohongshu|little red|sharechat|koo|mastodon|bluesky)\b/i, 'social'],
+  [/\b(youtube|bigo|nimo|twitch|rumble|dailymotion|vimeo)\b/i, 'video'],
+  [/\b(opera|uc ?browser|chrome|firefox|brave|puffin|phoenix ?browser)\b/i, 'browser'],
+];
+
+export function classify(name) {
+  for (const [re, k] of KIND) if (re.test(String(name || '').trim())) return k;
+  return 'other';
+}
+
+// The kinds a reachability table keeps (everything else is not a communication channel).
+export const isComms = (kind) => kind !== 'other' && kind !== 'browser';
diff --git a/library/scripts/research/build-tabulator-tables.mjs b/library/scripts/research/build-tabulator-tables.mjs
index 37fac6da5..b65a121b4 100644
--- a/library/scripts/research/build-tabulator-tables.mjs
+++ b/library/scripts/research/build-tabulator-tables.mjs
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 import { readFileSync, writeFileSync, mkdirSync, existsSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
 import { dirname, join, resolve } from 'node:path';
+import { classify, isComms } from './app-kind.mjs';
 
 const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 const OUT = join(__dirname, 'out');
@@ -553,6 +554,15 @@ if (has('social-platforms-by-country.json')) {
   }
 }
 
+// The headline counts are COUNTED from the rows, never typed: a typed "54" stayed true only until
+// the classifier changed. WhatsApp is its two apps (Messenger + Business) together.
+function messagingWhy(rows) {
+  const top = new Map();
+  for (const r of rows) if (r.is_top_messaging) top.set(r.iso3, r.app);
+  const count = (re) => [...top.values()].filter((a) => re.test(a)).length;
+  return `Referral stats (StatCounter) structurally cannot see messaging apps. Measured here: WhatsApp (Messenger or Business) is the top messaging app in ${count(/whatsapp/i)} countries, Telegram in ${count(/telegram/i)} — neither appears in referral share at all.`;
+}
+
 // ═══ TABLE 7 — MESSAGING & APP CHANNELS (what referral stats cannot see) ═══
 // StatCounter's ENTIRE tracked universe is Western referral platforms — measured:
 // Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/YouTube/Pinterest/reddit/LinkedIn/Tumblr/HN/VK/Fark.
@@ -572,7 +582,11 @@ if (has('top-apps-by-country.json')) {
   for (const c of Object.values(apps.countries)) {
     const meta = g[c.iso3] || {};
     // One row per COUNTRY x APP so a list view can sort "where does Telegram rank".
-    for (const a of (c.comms_apps || [])) {
+    // The kind is RE-DERIVED from the name with the shared classifier (app-kind.mjs), and the top
+    // messaging app with it: the cached fetch may carry a kind from an older rule.
+    const comms = (c.comms_apps || []).map((a) => ({ ...a, kind: classify(a.name) })).filter((a) => isComms(a.kind));
+    const topMessaging = comms.slice().sort((x, y) => x.rank - y.rank).find((a) => a.kind === 'messaging')?.name || null;
+    for (const a of comms) {
       rows.push({
         country: meta.country || c.iso3,
         iso3: c.iso3,
@@ -580,7 +594,7 @@ if (has('top-apps-by-country.json')) {
         app: a.name,
         kind: a.kind,
         rank: a.rank,
-        is_top_messaging: a.name === c.top_messaging,
+        is_top_messaging: a.name === topMessaging,
         people_groups: meta.groups || 0,
         platform_bias: c.platform_bias,
         classification: c.classification_method,
@@ -605,7 +619,7 @@ if (has('top-apps-by-country.json')) {
     ], {
       title: 'Messaging & App Channels',
       grain: 'one row per country x communication app',
-      why: 'Referral stats (StatCounter) structurally cannot see messaging apps. Measured here: WhatsApp is the top messaging app in 54 countries, Telegram in 38 — neither appears in referral share at all.',
+      why: messagingWhy(rows),
       ios_caveat: 'iOS ONLY. Most of these countries are Android-majority and Google publishes no keyless equivalent, so this is one eye open. An app absent here is NOT absent in-country. 50 of 175 countries have no Apple storefront.',
       ranking_caveat: 'A top-free RANK is most-DOWNLOADED recently, not most-used.',
       classification_caveat: 'kind is a name-keyword HEURISTIC over a known list, not a verified taxonomy.',
diff --git a/library/scripts/research/fetch-top-apps.mjs b/library/scripts/research/fetch-top-apps.mjs
index e0d83cf63..0cf380d28 100644
--- a/library/scripts/research/fetch-top-apps.mjs
+++ b/library/scripts/research/fetch-top-apps.mjs
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
 import { readFileSync, writeFileSync, existsSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
 import { dirname, join } from 'node:path';
+import { classify, isComms } from './app-kind.mjs';
 
 const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 const OUT = join(__dirname, 'out');
@@ -55,19 +56,7 @@ const SOURCE = {
   why: 'StatCounter tracks only Western referral platforms and cannot see WhatsApp/WeChat/Telegram/TikTok/LINE/Viber/imo/Zalo — the channels that dominate most of this corpus',
 };
 
-// Known non-Western + messaging platforms worth surfacing explicitly. Matching is
-// a HEURISTIC on the app name; recorded as such.
-const KIND = [
-  [/\b(whatsapp|telegram|signal|viber|imo|line|zalo|wechat|weixin|kakaotalk|botim|imessage|messenger|skype|hike|jio ?chat|soul|beetalk)\b/i, 'messaging'],
-  [/\b(tiktok|douyin|kwai|likee|snack ?video|moj|josh|triller|reels)\b/i, 'short-video'],
-  [/\b(facebook|instagram|snapchat|x|twitter|threads|vk|odnoklassniki|weibo|qzone|xiaohongshu|little red|sharechat|koo|mastodon|bluesky)\b/i, 'social'],
-  [/\b(youtube|bigo|nimo|twitch|rumble|dailymotion|vimeo)\b/i, 'video'],
-  [/\b(opera|uc ?browser|chrome|firefox|brave|puffin|phoenix ?browser)\b/i, 'browser'],
-];
-const classify = (name) => {
-  for (const [re, k] of KIND) if (re.test(name)) return k;
-  return 'other';
-};
+// The classifier (KIND / classify) is shared with build-tabulator-tables.mjs: see app-kind.mjs.
 
 const ISO2 = existsSync(join(OUT, 'iso3-to-iso2.json'))
   ? JSON.parse(readFileSync(join(OUT, 'iso3-to-iso2.json'), 'utf8'))
@@ -113,7 +102,7 @@ for (let n = 0; n < todo.length; n++) {
     }
   } catch (e) { err = String(e.message || e).slice(0, 60); }
 
-  const comms = apps.filter((a) => a.kind !== 'other' && a.kind !== 'browser');
+  const comms = apps.filter((a) => isComms(a.kind));
   out[iso3] = {
     iso3, iso2: ISO2[iso3],
     apps: apps.slice(0, 25),
diff --git a/library/scripts/research/out/tables/messaging-channels.json b/library/scripts/research/out/tables/messaging-channels.json
index 6b505cb50..cfd2b784e 100644
--- a/library/scripts/research/out/tables/messaging-channels.json
+++ b/library/scripts/research/out/tables/messaging-channels.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
  "meta": {
   "title": "Messaging & App Channels",
   "grain": "one row per country x communication app",
-  "why": "Referral stats (StatCounter) structurally cannot see messaging apps. Measured here: WhatsApp is the top messaging app in 54 countries, Telegram in 38 — neither appears in referral share at all.",
+  "why": "Referral stats (StatCounter) structurally cannot see messaging apps. Measured here: WhatsApp (Messenger or Business) is the top messaging app in 73 countries, Telegram in 38 — neither appears in referral share at all.",
   "ios_caveat": "iOS ONLY. Most of these countries are Android-majority and Google publishes no keyless equivalent, so this is one eye open. An app absent here is NOT absent in-country. 50 of 175 countries have no Apple storefront.",
   "ranking_caveat": "A top-free RANK is most-DOWNLOADED recently, not most-used.",
   "classification_caveat": "kind is a name-keyword HEURISTIC over a known list, not a verified taxonomy.",
@@ -2830,19 +2830,6 @@
    "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
    "source": "Apple App Store RSS — top free apps by country"
   },
-  {
-   "country": "Thailand",
-   "iso3": "THA",
-   "region": "Asia",
-   "app": "LINE MAN: Food Delivery & more",
-   "kind": "messaging",
-   "rank": 13,
-   "is_top_messaging": true,
-   "people_groups": 8,
-   "platform_bias": "iOS only — most of these countries are Android-majority; absence here is not absence in-country",
-   "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
-   "source": "Apple App Store RSS — top free apps by country"
-  },
   {
    "country": "Burkina Faso",
    "iso3": "BFA",
@@ -3006,7 +2993,7 @@
    "app": "WhatsApp Messenger",
    "kind": "messaging",
    "rank": 37,
-   "is_top_messaging": false,
+   "is_top_messaging": true,
    "people_groups": 8,
    "platform_bias": "iOS only — most of these countries are Android-majority; absence here is not absence in-country",
    "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
@@ -7809,19 +7796,6 @@
    "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
    "source": "Apple App Store RSS — top free apps by country"
   },
-  {
-   "country": "Maldives",
-   "iso3": "MDV",
-   "region": "Asia",
-   "app": "Malé Taxi Line",
-   "kind": "messaging",
-   "rank": 1,
-   "is_top_messaging": true,
-   "people_groups": 1,
-   "platform_bias": "iOS only — most of these countries are Android-majority; absence here is not absence in-country",
-   "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
-   "source": "Apple App Store RSS — top free apps by country"
-  },
   {
    "country": "Northern Mariana Islands",
    "iso3": "MNP",
@@ -13120,7 +13094,7 @@
    "app": "WhatsApp Messenger",
    "kind": "messaging",
    "rank": 33,
-   "is_top_messaging": false,
+   "is_top_messaging": true,
    "people_groups": 1,
    "platform_bias": "iOS only — most of these countries are Android-majority; absence here is not absence in-country",
    "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
diff --git a/plugin-designs/cities-internet/data/tables/messaging-channels.json b/plugin-designs/cities-internet/data/tables/messaging-channels.json
index 6b505cb50..cfd2b784e 100644
--- a/plugin-designs/cities-internet/data/tables/messaging-channels.json
+++ b/plugin-designs/cities-internet/data/tables/messaging-channels.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
  "meta": {
   "title": "Messaging & App Channels",
   "grain": "one row per country x communication app",
-  "why": "Referral stats (StatCounter) structurally cannot see messaging apps. Measured here: WhatsApp is the top messaging app in 54 countries, Telegram in 38 — neither appears in referral share at all.",
+  "why": "Referral stats (StatCounter) structurally cannot see messaging apps. Measured here: WhatsApp (Messenger or Business) is the top messaging app in 73 countries, Telegram in 38 — neither appears in referral share at all.",
   "ios_caveat": "iOS ONLY. Most of these countries are Android-majority and Google publishes no keyless equivalent, so this is one eye open. An app absent here is NOT absent in-country. 50 of 175 countries have no Apple storefront.",
   "ranking_caveat": "A top-free RANK is most-DOWNLOADED recently, not most-used.",
   "classification_caveat": "kind is a name-keyword HEURISTIC over a known list, not a verified taxonomy.",
@@ -2830,19 +2830,6 @@
    "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
    "source": "Apple App Store RSS — top free apps by country"
   },
-  {
-   "country": "Thailand",
-   "iso3": "THA",
-   "region": "Asia",
-   "app": "LINE MAN: Food Delivery & more",
-   "kind": "messaging",
-   "rank": 13,
-   "is_top_messaging": true,
-   "people_groups": 8,
-   "platform_bias": "iOS only — most of these countries are Android-majority; absence here is not absence in-country",
-   "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
-   "source": "Apple App Store RSS — top free apps by country"
-  },
   {
    "country": "Burkina Faso",
    "iso3": "BFA",
@@ -3006,7 +2993,7 @@
    "app": "WhatsApp Messenger",
    "kind": "messaging",
    "rank": 37,
-   "is_top_messaging": false,
+   "is_top_messaging": true,
    "people_groups": 8,
    "platform_bias": "iOS only — most of these countries are Android-majority; absence here is not absence in-country",
    "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
@@ -7809,19 +7796,6 @@
    "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
    "source": "Apple App Store RSS — top free apps by country"
   },
-  {
-   "country": "Maldives",
-   "iso3": "MDV",
-   "region": "Asia",
-   "app": "Malé Taxi Line",
-   "kind": "messaging",
-   "rank": 1,
-   "is_top_messaging": true,
-   "people_groups": 1,
-   "platform_bias": "iOS only — most of these countries are Android-majority; absence here is not absence in-country",
-   "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
-   "source": "Apple App Store RSS — top free apps by country"
-  },
   {
    "country": "Northern Mariana Islands",
    "iso3": "MNP",
@@ -13120,7 +13094,7 @@
    "app": "WhatsApp Messenger",
    "kind": "messaging",
    "rank": 33,
-   "is_top_messaging": false,
+   "is_top_messaging": true,
    "people_groups": 1,
    "platform_bias": "iOS only — most of these countries are Android-majority; absence here is not absence in-country",
    "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
diff --git a/public/dx-maps/assets/tables/messaging-channels.json b/public/dx-maps/assets/tables/messaging-channels.json
index 6b505cb50..cfd2b784e 100644
--- a/public/dx-maps/assets/tables/messaging-channels.json
+++ b/public/dx-maps/assets/tables/messaging-channels.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
  "meta": {
   "title": "Messaging & App Channels",
   "grain": "one row per country x communication app",
-  "why": "Referral stats (StatCounter) structurally cannot see messaging apps. Measured here: WhatsApp is the top messaging app in 54 countries, Telegram in 38 — neither appears in referral share at all.",
+  "why": "Referral stats (StatCounter) structurally cannot see messaging apps. Measured here: WhatsApp (Messenger or Business) is the top messaging app in 73 countries, Telegram in 38 — neither appears in referral share at all.",
   "ios_caveat": "iOS ONLY. Most of these countries are Android-majority and Google publishes no keyless equivalent, so this is one eye open. An app absent here is NOT absent in-country. 50 of 175 countries have no Apple storefront.",
   "ranking_caveat": "A top-free RANK is most-DOWNLOADED recently, not most-used.",
   "classification_caveat": "kind is a name-keyword HEURISTIC over a known list, not a verified taxonomy.",
@@ -2830,19 +2830,6 @@
    "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
    "source": "Apple App Store RSS — top free apps by country"
   },
-  {
-   "country": "Thailand",
-   "iso3": "THA",
-   "region": "Asia",
-   "app": "LINE MAN: Food Delivery & more",
-   "kind": "messaging",
-   "rank": 13,
-   "is_top_messaging": true,
-   "people_groups": 8,
-   "platform_bias": "iOS only — most of these countries are Android-majority; absence here is not absence in-country",
-   "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
-   "source": "Apple App Store RSS — top free apps by country"
-  },
   {
    "country": "Burkina Faso",
    "iso3": "BFA",
@@ -3006,7 +2993,7 @@
    "app": "WhatsApp Messenger",
    "kind": "messaging",
    "rank": 37,
-   "is_top_messaging": false,
+   "is_top_messaging": true,
    "people_groups": 8,
    "platform_bias": "iOS only — most of these countries are Android-majority; absence here is not absence in-country",
    "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
@@ -7809,19 +7796,6 @@
    "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
    "source": "Apple App Store RSS — top free apps by country"
   },
-  {
-   "country": "Maldives",
-   "iso3": "MDV",
-   "region": "Asia",
-   "app": "Malé Taxi Line",
-   "kind": "messaging",
-   "rank": 1,
-   "is_top_messaging": true,
-   "people_groups": 1,
-   "platform_bias": "iOS only — most of these countries are Android-majority; absence here is not absence in-country",
-   "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",
-   "source": "Apple App Store RSS — top free apps by country"
-  },
   {
    "country": "Northern Mariana Islands",
    "iso3": "MNP",
@@ -13120,7 +13094,7 @@
    "app": "WhatsApp Messenger",
    "kind": "messaging",
    "rank": 33,
-   "is_top_messaging": false,
+   "is_top_messaging": true,
    "people_groups": 1,
    "platform_bias": "iOS only — most of these countries are Android-majority; absence here is not absence in-country",
    "classification": "name-keyword HEURISTIC, not a verified taxonomy",