{"id":27096,"date":"2013-07-09T08:00:36","date_gmt":"2013-07-09T15:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.mcafee.com\/?p=27096"},"modified":"2025-08-27T23:16:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T06:16:45","slug":"does-kik-messenger-pose-a-danger-to-your-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/does-kik-messenger-pose-a-danger-to-your-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Kik Messenger Pose a Danger to Your Kids?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With more than 50 million users, and reportedly growing by 20,000 everyday, Kik has become one of the most popular messaging apps on the market. It is widely used as a messaging portal between those who want to connect privately off of other social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram). But more importantly, it has become quite popular among our kids.<\/p>\n

Why? Well, as a private messenger app, Kik is coveted by those under 18 for a number of reasons. It is seemingly a safer way of connecting for kids as users connect via usernames so those you are connecting with cannot see your phone number. Kik messages are sent privately across the app and will not show up on your phone bill since they are not recorded as text messages. This allows kids to send private messages that their parents can\u2019t gain access to without a login. And most parents don\u2019t even know the app exists, which allows kids to go even further under the radar.<\/p>\n

What do you know about the people your kids are chatting with on Kik? Not much besides a username, full name, image and an email, none of which can be verified. So how do you know if your kids are talking to kids their own age, friends, or stalkers and other predators hiding their identity? You don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Privacy Issues<\/h2>\n

The blog post \u201cKik Me\u201d \u2013 The Apps Your Kids Are Using Now: Kik<\/a> takes a look at how this poses a number of privacy issues for both parents and children, including:<\/p>\n