Kik Review – A Free App To Communicate

The Kik website is mostly an online cross-platform application used for communicating with friends in group chats or direct messages. It’s available for both iOS and Android users. Whereas in the first look, the Kik website will appear to be a standard electronic communication app in which users can click in to check in with their names, email-id, etc. However, once the users get their hands on it, it’s rather more helpful to send pictures, GIFs, stickers, emojis, sketches, and it also permits live video calls. The most exciting part of the Kik website is that the users can connect with strangers with similar interests by being a part of public chat rooms, using hashtags while being associated with the older ones.

The Kik website was made in 2009 by a group of students from the University of Waterloo, Canada. Their main aim was to connect everyone using new technologies. The app was finally released on October 9, 2010, and within a short period of time, it gained a lot of popularity. Twitter was given the credits for acting as a catalyst to it.

In 2014 Kik website bought the GIF messenger “relay” and, through Kik and the partners associated with it, gained a lot of profit of around $70.5 million. Throughout time Kik had many companies funding or co-funding it.

In 2019, Ted Livingston, the founder, and CEO, announced that the Kik website would be shut down on October 19, 2019, and then backtracked from this decision and said that the application would remain.

Working Model of Kik

According to Kik reviews, the Teenage users’ appeals and the website’s working model is quite similar to the other dating websites in the industry. The application does not require any contact number for registration purposes. Simultaneously, the username and email will suffice, and this aspect ensures that the users can maintain their anonymity at any cost. The username will be visible to the other party that a user is chatting with. Even without a proper verification process, the users can exchange messages and share videos, stickers, and any content without any hassles. As it focuses majorly on teenage users, the minimum age limit for the registration is 13 years, and there are some privacy concerns involved in this case.

The users will not be able to find out the address, contact number, email id, or birthdate information of the other users, and the username is the only tag that they can see. However, the accounts provide optional features for the users to voluntarily match their contact numbers or email addresses on the smartphone to find other contacts or their friends’ user IDs.

To be precise, this application’s working model is more like sending messages on any messenger platform; however, there are many appealing features than the traditional messaging applications. Kik notifications will be sent to the users to let them know the message’s details and received it. The audio reports can be personalized with different tones, and the user can identify their favorite profiles sending the messages with an entirely different ringtone. The users can also check out different themes to apply to the chat. The live typing feature indicates if the contact responds to the text message and if it is in progress. The users can also find out if the other user has read their message.

Signup And Login Process Of Kik

Kik Messenger works in the form of a software application and does not in website form. Users must register themselves by entering a first name, last name, email address, and birth date. Users also must create their usernames so that their contacts can find them easily. Only the username will be visible to the other users unless voluntarily shared by this user. Once the account has been verified and registered on the platform, the user can log in to their account with their credentials.

Initiating A Conversation With Members

After creating usernames, users can start messaging their friends by searching for their friends in the search section. The username should be the same to find contacts quickly. Another way to begin messaging is to scan Kik codes where if users scan the code, the application takes them to the chat page directly. Users can browse and send photos, videos, or any other content quickly.

Search For A Member On The Site

Users can search their friends or contacts by their usernames, which they have already created while signing up. Also, another way to explore them is to scan Kik codes. The application also helps the user find out if their friends are on the portal by connecting the contact number or Email Id with this platform.

Does Kik have a mobile application?

Kik Messenger itself is an application that can be installed via the play store. It has the same features mentioned above as Kik does not provide any service through the website. The application has almost the latest features. Kik is a unique social media and messaging application. Users can send photos, videos, chat with their friends easily. This application is best for all age individuals unless and until it is used in the wrong way by teenagers. If teenagers are using this application, it is advised to use it with utmost precautions like not to chat with an unknown person or share any wrong type of images, videos that are against the cyber laws.

Special Features of Kik

The main feature of the Kik website is its anonymity. Providing the phone number is optional in this application, unlike others in which the phone number is required. Its anonymity features go beyond those widely used apps. The app doesn’t share email addresses. It does not save records of shared photos, videos, links, etc. In 2015 many new features were added to the app like a full-screen in-chat browser, video capturing.

According to the Kik review by the experts, it promoted chats in 2014, which used bots to converse. This feature allows companies to communicate with more potential clients than would be possible manually. It also allows for ordering food and products through an automated chat. It even launched its coins called Kik coins. This is a team-oriented feature that focuses mostly on social interaction. The user can chat with them and take the quiz and other fashion advice according to the categories.

Starting from just fun to meeting new people, entertainment, games, and other fashion and beauty categories are available. If the user has not yet found any contact to communicate with on the portal, then this bot will help them by providing an entry to the chat Arena so that a user can meet other people and connect with them.

It also joined hands with anti-child abuse organization and didn’t allow users to send to receive child exploitation images. Not only this, but the organization has taken part in several such safety programs showing that they are concerned about the safety of the teenagers who are not of legal age communicating on the portal.

Kik added GIFs in its chat in 2016. It does not ask for a phone number during registration. An email address and date of birth are enough for signing in. This feature is relatively popular among users as users find it way easier to sign in and start using it.

Kik messenger has an in-chat browser where users can browse any content and share it with their friends in the chat itself. It also offers a full-screen mode feature in chat browsers where users can find and share any from the web.

It offers Kik codes that can be scanned to send messages instantly. If a user scans a particular Kik code of their friend, it right away takes the user to the chat page. This results in finding and connecting with the users quickly. This code is unique and in QR in format, and the users can access the same from the settings. This can be used to invite or find new members, and to add the user from a code, the users must tap on the search icon and then find people the option, after which the code must be scanned. The permissions to check using the camera should be given involuntarily by the user.

Another feature of this website is that the users can initiate a group chat and even video chat with other members. However, the users can not look for other private groups while only scanning the group to join them. There will be a specific code designated for each group, and the contacts will be using this code to be added to this group. The video chat option is applicable for a one-to-one chat, or the user can chat up to 6 friends on a video call. Any user can leave or join the group chat voluntarily, and the chats will be listed on the messaging page for the users to click on it and start chatting in an instant.

Pricing Details of Kik

There are no pricing details, considering this is an entirely free application made for teenagers to find interesting people online and communicate with them.

Other applications to explore

Though there are not many applications for teenagers, especially of age 13+ in the industry as of now, Tinder, Badoo, Our Time, OkCupid could be other alternatives that the users can explore considering their age above 18. People who are not of the legal age are expected to use common social media platforms only.

Rumors and Controversies

The Kik website reviews had not been in a very suitable position within the past few years. For

For example, in the year 2018, Kik came in light of the controversy highlighted in the child abuse cases; the BBC reported that more than 1,100 cases have been registered, which exposed widespread sexual exploitation. Despite the messenger’s vast popularity, Kik frequently struggled to decriminalize the Service, which continued to form headlines on many platforms. There have been continued reports of kid abuse over Kik that forced its manufacturers to focus on building cryptocurrencies.

With great power comes great responsibility. But Kik fails to deliver. The website was an instant hit in the US and Canada with its anonymous and private features, pouring over approximately 300 million users. But soon, the website was infiltrated with automated bots that sent lewd images and texts on the Kik messenger. There are speculations of possible pedophiles and predators on the website who misuse the platform. The inadequacy of adult supervision makes the website fall under sharp criticism since most of its audience are minors and teenagers. There are groups on the app that contain bots that redirect the users to 18+ websites and expose minors to adult content. An investigation claimed that the website had featured in 1,110 UK child abuses cases. In 2016 it was linked to the murder of a 13-year-old girl in the US.

Another controversy that Kikwas entangled with was in March 2016. Instead, it was a high profile row over the brand name ‘Kik’ with an independent code developer AzerKoçulu. The case came up with controversies over the concept of intellectual property rights and reliance during software developments.

Considering the age limit of the website, rumors and controversies are prone to happen. Regardless of the fact that the company has been participating in the majority of the child safety programs, most experts think the application can be slower in taking steps to upgrade.

Safety And Security Features

The security design is not properly documented. The Kik website got many controversies like child exploitation, minors use of Kik, an open-source module name.

It then released its new guideline in which it stated people above the age of 13 could only use the Kik application.

The Kik website became immensely popular due to its feature of anonymity. Kik, like any other site, does not necessarily ask for the phone number while signing in. This is the feature that attracted most teens because tracking wasn’t possible. However, the Kik website makers ensured that the user information is not traced at any cost. Things that may be derived with a Kikuser’s user name embody their first and family name, birth date, profile image, email address, device-related info (such as a model number), and geographical location once they were logged into Kik (through information processing addresses). These items of knowledge are saved by Kikfor up to three months if they’re requested to do so by law enforcement. Whereas such security is luring, it also creates a platform for online abuse, which may be hurtful and dangerous. It is entirely on the user to choose their connections wisely to avoid such abuses.

Another factor is Kik’s terms don’t guarantee that their content, communications, messages, or Kik wallet information won’t be viewed by unauthorized persons and used by third parties, revealing their user’s address. Kik’s terms state they practically take steps to protect personal information privacy and safety collected from the Service users. The terms of Kik state that services are intended for users of age thirteen and above but parental consent is not required to be obtained beforehand.

After the adversities, the company has introduced a page with “resources for teens, parents, and law enforcement to help in any situation,” according to the website. Unlike other messaging apps, Kik does not use personal information like the email address or phone number, allowing the person anonymity. Yet, it does trace the user’s IP location.

The website has now updated its community standards. It chalked down a particular set of guidelines that aims to make the website a respectful and fun place. In case a user is not in accordance with these set of guidelines, the website now provides moderation and trust and safety team to implement these community standards.

The moderation team takes stringent action to counter the reported users that are not abiding by the community standards. If someone is not following the rules, they might have their profile picture removed. They might get banned from public groups on the website. According to Kik review, t might lead to a temporary or permanent ban from Kik or even have their profiles reported to the police.

It recently introduced new featured bots Koko, Shine, and Stop, Breathe & Think that motivate a person and help their well-being.

Measures taken by the application to protect the user data

As per the Kik review, the website stores and maintains personal information using reasonable security measures. The measures depend on the nature of one’s information. Supposedly the app encrypts the transmission of one’s login information. However, The transmission of data or information via the internet and mobile platforms is not completely secure. The app does not guarantee the security of personal information transmitted through the app and does not owe any responsibility for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures that they provide. The government might have access to the user’s data under a lawful order.

Final words

The Kik website does provide easy access to chat with people around the world, yet has some running risk factors. The website might be convenient for people over 18, yet minors often have access to it. Perhaps a collective effort should be made to keep children off the website and fix the issues, making it a safer place to interact.

According to Kik reviews, it is one of the most popular and widely used websites globally. It is the best choice for anyone who likes to keep exploring new people and their taste in their lives. Anyone who thinks they don’t have enough friends and wish to share things with others might find this app helpful. It is not exactly a dating app, but it connects people with similar hobbies and tastes. Kik is a revolution in the world of messaging apps, which keeps us close to friends and makes new friends. In case you are interested in the Kik website, then log-into this app by reading this Kik review; what are you waiting for then? Sign-in today and get started to find a perfect date for you.