Despite its popularity, Kik is one of the most controversial messaging apps. On the one hand, it’s a free app connecting you not just with friends, but with like-minded people. Some people even use it as a less judgemental Tinder option.
This doesn’t seem like a bad thing until you factor in the fact Kik’s user base consists predominantly of young adults and minors. Kik’s terms of service stipulate you need to be 13 or older to use the service but it doesn’t have any real age verification in place. This has led to many shady individuals misusing the app to prey on vulnerable youth.
Whether this makes you feel uncomfortable, you’ve had bad experiences on the app yourself, or you’re just plain bored of Kik, you can delete your account in 7 easy steps.
Is Kik Safe to Use?
In a way, Kik is considered a safe messaging app since it offers a more private communication tool. Kik only requires an email address for verification, and doesn’t mandate phone numbers like WhatsApp or Signal do. Kik also doesn’t enforce name or birthday verification. This enables anonymous communication for the platform’s more than 50 million users.
With its Meet New People feature, Kik markets itself as a way to connect to like-minded people with an Interests filter. You can also access public chats to talk about any of your interests through the Explore Public Groups feature. Hashtags are a familiar sight too, letting you navigate through content.
Because of its anonymity and interests filter, Kik also became a popular Tinder alternative. Users think Kik is less judgemental since it lets you connect to people without having to go through a curated bio first.
Chatting to strangers is fine, but Kik lacks an age verification system which makes things a bit muddy. Kik’s terms of service stipulate you need to be at least 13 years old to use it. Teenagers between 13 and 18 require parental consent to create an account. It sounds good on paper, but it doesn’t have a way to check for parental consent.
UK regulator Ofcom estimates 1 in 3 children lie about their age online, and 32% of minors have accounts intended for adults. Most parents might monitor or limit Facebook and Instagram time, but Kik isn’t as popular, and stays under the radar. This might be why Kik is so popular among children and teenagers — or why Kik has attracted so many predators.
Of its 15 million monthly active users, around 70% are considered to be in the 13-24 age bracket. It’s no surprise Kik is connected to hundreds of cases of grooming and child exploitation across Australia and the US. Even worse, Kik hasn’t even deleted the profiles of the individuals charged or convicted of child abuse offenses.
This is why it’s essential to protect your children, and hopefully keep them away from Kik’s dangerous grounds.
How to Find Your Child’s Kik Account
Start off by having a conversation with your child about Kik and the dangers of social media. I’d recommend checking out our tips on how to protect your child online and how to protect your teenager’s mental health.
Grooming is a difficult topic, but experts recommend approaching the matter truthfully and openly. It’s best to have an honest conversation with your child and have them show you the app, delete it, and find a better alternative together.
If your child isn’t cooperative, and you have reason to believe they’re in danger, you might need to take an unconventional approach. You can uncover a Kik account by going through your child’s devices. If you’re going through your child’s phone, you’ll want to look for an app with this icon.
After opening it, you’ll see Kik looks similar to WhatsApp and other instant messaging apps.
Kik doesn’t have an app for PC, so you won’t find it there. You can still search the browser history for Kik or Kik.com which can show you if your child created an account on their PC.
For most popular browsers, you’ll just need to open them and give the following input to open the history:
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- For Windows: Ctrl + H
- For Macs: Command + Y
- For Chromebooks: Ctrl + H
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I’ve said no official app for PCs exists, but it doesn’t mean people won’t try to emulate one. Since it’s easier and faster to type on a PC, some use extensions enabling messaging apps through a browser. Kik didn’t, but independent developers released a Chrome extension for it. This is what it looks like.
Keep in mind this isn’t official Kik software so it might not work. Some have even complained this particular one has malware, so if it’s installed, you’ll want to remove it immediately. You might also want to do a full scan with your antivirus to see if it detects any malicious programs.
If you found what you’re looking for and you want to delete the Kik account, here’s how to do it.
How to Delete Your Kik Account
Ready to pull the plug on your Kik account? If your answer isn’t a resonating yes, don’t worry. You can temporarily deactivate your account to give you time away from the addictive app, and think about whether it’s the right decision for you.
Here’s how.
How to Temporarily Deactivate Your Kik Account
- Go to https://ws.kik.com/deactivate
- Enter your email address
- Click on Go!
- Open the email Kik sends and select Deactivate
You can always reactivate your account by logging back into your Kik account. If you’re sure you want to let your Kik account go, here’s how.
How to Permanently Delete Your Kik Account
- Go to https://ws.kik.com/delete
- Enter your username and email address
- Select the reason you’re deleting your account.
- Optionally, you can leave additional information for Kik.
- Tick the box below
- Click on Go!
- Open the email Kik sends and select Permanently Deactivate.
If you want to delete your child’s Kik account rather than yours, you can’t follow these steps as you’ll need access to their email. But if you do have reason to suspect your child isn’t safe on the app, it’s worth a shot.
How to Delete Your Child’s Kik Account
- Write an email to safety@kik.com with the subject line Parent Inquiry
- Make sure to mention your child’s email address and username
- Make your case as to why Kik should delete your child’s account
You should know this isn’t a foolproof method. Unless your child is under 13 or you have a legal reason like identity theft, Kik’s support team isn’t technically obligated to delete an account. Consider alternative measures and options to sway your child away from Kik.
7 Kik Alternatives You Should Check Out
Can’t seem to kick the Kik habit? It might be you feel cut off from your friends. What if I recommended some better, more privacy-friendly alternatives?
Here are 7 Kik alternatives you can try out. Fair warning: you might have to convince at least some of your friends to switch. To make things easier, I’ve prepared a pros and cons list for every messaging app.
- Signal
If you want to be safe while chatting with family and friends, why not start with the app recommended by Edward Snowden? Even data-hungry Mark Zuckerberg admitted he uses Signal to protect his privacy.
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- Telegram
Telegram regularly ranks among the top 10 most downloaded apps, and has over 500 million active users. As a cloud-based software, Telegram is incredibly convenient and easy to use.
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- Threema
Operating under privacy by design principles, Threema is another secure and popular option. Threema also regularly conducts third-party audits to ensure its service runs as smoothly as possible.
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- Viber
Rakuten Viber is well-known as a great WhatsApp alternative for smartphones. It’s especially popular in Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and it’s one of the most user-friendly messaging apps available right now.
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- Line
Line is a fun and versatile app but it has very few users outside Eastern Asian countries like Japan and Taiwan. You might have a hard time convincing your friends to switch.
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- Wire
Wire is a very popular choice for privacy enthusiasts for its secure settings and intuitive design. While it’s suitable for security-oriented individuals and businesses, it’s not eye-catchy enough to appeal to a younger audience.
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WhatsApp is without a doubt the most popular messaging app, but it’s shrouded in controversy and bad press. While you’ll have an easy time using the app and connecting with your friends, WhatsApp comes with some serious privacy concerns.
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Can You Use Kik Safely and Privately?
Using Kik means you have to accept their terms of service. By default, Kik monitors and collects your name, phone number, address, and email address until you request data deletion. The service also keeps aggregated usage data indefinitely. In this sense, there’s no way to use Kik without having the app collecting your data as soon as you log in.
That said, there are ways to minimize how much data you share online. CyberGhost VPN is a great tool to conceal your IP address and encrypt your entire internet traffic from snoopers. This makes it impossible for third parties like your internet service provider (ISP) to see what you do online. That prevents them from monitoring, storing, and selling your data.
CyberGhost VPN also hides your IP address with one from our servers to add another layer of privacy to your connection. Since your IP address is tied to your location and ISP, you’re more secure hiding this information.
We also use 256-bit AES VPN encryption to secure your traffic. This makes it impossible for cybercrooks to intercept your traffic and steal your private information. Encryption also protects you from certain cyber attacks like man-in-the-middle attacks and cookie hijacking attacks.
Keep in mind a VPN won’t necessarily protect you from in-app data collection. Once you log into an account, you accept the terms of service which can include harvesting and selling your data. However, CyberGhost VPN helps keep third-party tracking to a minimum, which makes your online activity harder to trace and track.
Stay Safe while Connecting with Friends
Instant messaging has become an integral part of our lives, but it’s important to make the right decisions and minimize online threats while you enjoy scrolling through your friends’ memes. In the age of data-mining and ever-mutating cyber threats, you need to be mindful of the apps you choose.
Kik boasts anonymous communication, but is rife with dangerous people. Consider safer alternatives like Signal, Viber, or Threema whichoffer robust security and a user-friendly interface.
Outside apps, it’s important to secure your digital identity. A VPN is a good start to enhance your security. Get CyberGhost VPN to encrypt your entire internet traffic and protect your IP address from cyber attacks. Keep data mining to a minimum with CyberGhost VPN and privacy-friendly choices. Start here:
FAQ
Kik doesn’t give you the option to delete your account through the Android or iOS app. You’ll have to go to its website on your browser to send an account deletion request. This can be a permanent deletion or a temporary one.
The KiK app doesn’t have an option to delete accounts. You’ll have to go to its dedicated Kik Delete Page via your browser. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to delete your Kik account.
If you’re on a public Wi-Fi network like school or work, you might find Kik is blocked to prevent distractions. Use CyberGhost VPN to bypass these restrictions, and delete Kik.
It won’t take you longer than two minutes to send a deletion request to Kik. See my guide on how you can do that. After you complete that step, it will take one to two days for your account to register as fully deleted. Afterwards, you can use a safer and more private alternative like Signal or Telegram.
If you delete the app from your phone, you’ll still receive messages on your account. Other people can access previous conversations they’ve had with you. Kik messages are stored locally on your device, which means Kik can’t access or remove them. If you delete your Kik account, you’ll also lose access to these stored messages.
That said, it might take a while for the systems to register your account as deleted, so your friends could still see your messages for one or two days on their phones.
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