Published in · 5 min read · Jan 26, 2022
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Most teens and even young professionals today prefer to use SMS and texts as their primary mode of communication. They consider phone calls as a waste of time and effort, claiming that texts, direct messages, and group chats are a more efficient and direct-to-the-point way of getting information to someone or a group of peers. And with the younger generation becoming the main demographic target of the major companies, it would come as no surprise that apps catering to their needs are surging.
With every app developer trying to cash in on the new generation’s choice of communicating, the number of messaging apps has grown exponentially over the years. While some tried and true apps like Facebook’s Messenger and Instagram have cornered the market, some apps are trying to nudge their way into the conversation. Kik Messenger is one of those apps.
Kik Messenger, or just simply KIk, is by no means a new player in the game. They have been around since 2009. And while there was a shutdown scare in 2019, they overcame it and have been trudging along ever since. At the time when cross messaging — that is, the ability to chat between Android, iOS, and Blackberry — was non-existent, Kik was aiming to allow everyone to chat with anyone, regardless of platform. So now, in today’s digital space where cross messaging is available to everyone, is Kik still relevant?
Kik has rebranded itself to cater to teens, creating a platform for them to share ideas, have group conversations, and be able to find their significant other. Doesn’t seem all too bad right? Not really.
While the developers at Kik have good intentions to protect their users, the way their app operates indicates otherwise. With the ability to remain anonymous behind unverified profiles, you can never know if the person you see online is the same person in the real world. This opens up your child to different levels of online dangers, let’s take a look at some of them below:
Allows chatting with random strangers
Kik has become a hotbed for sexual predators to reach out to your kid and exploit them. Not only does it enable users to send texts anonymously, but videos and pics can be sent anonymously as well. This is why the sharing of sexually explicit material is rampant within the users of this app. Plus, once the messages get deleted, they are irretrievable. Thus, it is challenging to monitor your kid’s phone activity or catch these predators and have them prosecuted.
It is a paradise for cyberbullies
With victims not being able to tell who their attackers are, cyberbullies can roam free and feast on unwilling victims. We all know that if cyberbullying is not stopped early on, the effects it has on the victims’ mental and physical health can be devastating.
Sexual Grooming
A recent investigation revealed that young teens, about 14 years of age, are being hunted for grooming via this app. Sexual grooming is the act of engaging in predatory conduct to prepare a child or young person for sexual activity at a later time, most like when they reach legal age. Despite reports of this activity rampant in the app, Kik has not shown any evidence that they have put any effort into having the accounts of those sexual predators removed.
No security measures set up
Since it seems that anonymity is one of the main selling points of Kik, you would like to believe that there is some form of privacy policy in place so that there is at least a layer of protection their users can enjoy. Sadly — or expectedly? — there is none.
Kik seems to be well aware of the problems and dangers that exist within their walls as they encourage their users to report inappropriate messages, pictures, or videos they might receive. However, encouraging and actually reporting are two different things. More so is acting on those reports. With the amount of inappropriate content still proliferating in their community, it’s hard to see that the people behind Kik are ensuring people’s safety.
Now that we’ve established the dangers your kids might encounter on Kik, it would be safe to presume several people would steer clear of using the app. I mean, common sense would tell you that if something is dangerous, it’s best to stay away from it, correct? Well, common sense might not be so common after all. Surely, your kid would never be one of the users on Kik, right?
With a reported 300 million registered users, Kik is just around 30 million users shy of equalling the entire population of the United States! Let that sink in for a moment, while we feed you more statistics regarding Kik and its activities:
- 500,000 daily active users and 15 million active users monthly.
- With 6 million people in the United States using Kik messenger monthly, it is more than 3 times more popular than WeChat.
- It is the 7th most popular messaging app in the US, just behind Skype and ahead of LINE, Telegram, WeChat, and Viber.
- With registered users in 230 countries, its growing popularity worldwide has made it the 10th most popular messaging app.
- 33% of American teens regularly use Kik, averaging 74 minutes spent per day.
- 70% of Kik users are between the ages of 13 and 24.
- It is among the top 10 apps for teens in the US.
- Based on time spent, Kik has the 2nd most engaged users, behind only Facebook.
- As of 2015, Kik has 250,000 new users daily.
- Kik scored a measly 1 out of 7 points from Electronic Frontier Federation, a nonprofit organization defending digital privacy.
- Kik has been involved in over 1,00 child abuse cases in the United Kingdom.
- Even the FBI has used Kik for sting operations against predators.
Valued at $1 Billion, and with a large and active community, it’s crystal clear that these numbers show that Kik Messenger isn’t going anywhere. Despite the many possible dangers lurking within their user base, it seems that the lure of anonymity — the chance to be whoever you want to be — is too irresistible to ignore. Bullies and predators be damned.
As a concerned and responsible parent, surely there is a way to prevent, if not limit, your child’s presence in this potentially dangerous environment. With a bevy of threats that are within reach of your kid, parental controls and restrictions should be available and mandatory within the app. Alas, and as you may have guessed, there is none. It’s up to you to make your own Kik Parental Controls so that you and your child will not feel vulnerable if ever you do decide to allow your child to use Kik Messenger. Personally, we’d rather hope you don’t.
