What is a kick?

 Introduction to free messaging app what is a kick?

Kik is a cross-platform mobile application used for instant messaging. Like many other popular messaging apps like Messenger and Snapchat, you can use Kik to send messages to individual friends as well as groups of friends.

Unlike WhatsApp, which uses your phone number to create your account and connect to your contacts, Kik allows users to create a free account with an email and password. Users can connect by searching for a specific user’s username, scanning a Kik code, or using their phone contacts by entering their phone numbers.

With Kik, you can send and receive unlimited messages to anyone with a Kik account. It looks and feels almost identical to SMS text messages, but it uses your smartphone’s data plan or WiFi connection to send and receive notifications.

Who uses Kik?

Many teens and young adults love Kik for its intuitive and functional app interface, making it easy to communicate with anything as if they were doing it via text message. A Kik user can say “Kik me” followed by their username, which means they want you to add them to your Kik contacts so you can chat on the app.

Since most of Kik’s users are fairly young, it has been pegged as a possible dating and dating app (similar to OkCupid and Tinder) for its ability to help users meet new people. However, there are some limitations given that you have to add everyone manually by username (apart from the contacts you import from your device).

Why use Kik?

Kik is an excellent replacement for regular SMS text messages, often as a way to avoid costly data charges or to avoid going over any text restrictions. The biggest downside to using Kik is that you always have to use your data plan or connect to Wi-Fi to use it, but for mobile device users who are limited to text messages, Kik is a great alternative.

Kik also allows for more than just text messages. Online communication is very visual these days, and Kik allows users to message their friends with anything from photos and videos, to GIFs and emojis.

Within just over two years of being released in 2010, the Kik Messenger app has grown into one of the best and most popular chat platforms, attracting over 4 million users under the name “Kinksters”. It had over 300 million users by May 2016.Features

Kik was created to mimic the look and feel and functionality of smartphone SMS text messages, except that it works with user profiles and usernames to communicate with friends rather than phone numbers. Here are some of the features you can expect from using.

Live typing:

 You can see when the person you are chatting with is typing a live message, which is useful to know that you expect to receive the message within a few seconds. You can also see when a message you sent has been read by the recipient, even if they haven’t replied or started typing yet.

Notifications:

 When you send and receive messages, you are notified when they are sent and delivered, just like normal text messages. You can also customize your notification sounds and choose to receive them instantly every time a new friend sends you a message.

Invite Friends:

 Kik can send invitations to people you know via SMS, email, or social networks like Facebook and Twitter. When a friend follows Kik with their phone number or email that you have already saved on your phone, Kik will know that you are friends and send you a connection notification on Kik.

Bot Shop:

 Use Kik bots to get more social. You can chat with them, complete fun quizzes, get fashion tips, read news, get tips, and more.

Scanning the Kik code:

 Every Kik user has a Kik code that can be accessed from their settings (gear icon in the top left corner of the chats tab). To add a user from your Kik code, click the search icon, then click Find People, then click Scan Kik Code. You must grant Kik permission to access your camera before you can scan another user’s Kik code to add them.

Multimedia messaging:

 You don’t just restrict text messaging with Kik. You can send photos, GIFs, videos, thumbnails, emojis, and more!

Video Chat:

 The new Kik feature recently introduced includes the ability to have a real-time video chat with friends similar to FaceTime, Skype, and other video chat apps.

Profile integration:

 You have your username and account, which you can set up with a profile picture and contact information.

Chat Lists:

 Like any smartphone texting platform, Kik lists all the different chats you have with people. Click on any to pull up a chat and start chatting with them.

Chat Customization:

 You may notice that Kik looks a lot like Apple’s iMessage app. You can choose which colors you want for your chat.

Group Chats:

 You can start your group chats by clicking the search icon (a small magnifying glass), clicking Start a group, and then adding users to your group.

Promoted Chats:

 When you click on the search icon to add new people, the next tab should list the Advanced Chats option. You can click on it to view a list of interesting chats and start chatting with them yourself.

Privacy:

 You can choose whether you want Kik to access your address book to match it with your contacts. You can also prevent Kik users from contacting you.

How to start using Kik

To get started, the first thing you need to do is download the free mobile app. You can download Kik Messenger from iTunes for iPhone (iPod Touch or iPad) or Google Play Android phones.

After installing the app, Kik will automatically ask you to create a new account or sign in if you already have an account. All you need is to fill in the basic information (such as your name and birthday), username, email address, and password. You can also fill in additional information such as a phone number and profile picture.

Again, the main downsides are the need for a data or WiFi connection, and the need for friends to also have a Kik account if you want to interact with them via Kik. However, it is a great messaging option that has been steadily growing in popularity over the years, especially with younger people.