Like all other social media or chatting platforms, Kik allows its users to block others they’d rather don’t talk to. The block function is easy to use and it doesn’t compromise users’ privacy.
There can be many reasons to block someone on Kik: perhaps, you have been talking with someone you know well but who has annoyed you recently and you need some space from them; or, perhaps, a stranger was rude to you, for whatever reason, you don’t trust them or simply don’t enjoy talking to them. Those are all good reasons to block somebody. Whatever the reason, you are entitled to use the block function whenever you feel you need to and you can do so with the reassurance that the person you have blocked can’t know that you have done it.
But, what is the shoe was on the other foot? What happens when someone blocks you? Let’s face it; chances are you have probably been blocked by another user for any of the reasons we have just covered or similar ones. There is no need to take offence, though. If someone has blocked you, it means that they would rather not talk to you. Is that’s the case, why would you want to talk to them?
The only problem is that with Kik you won’t know straight away if someone has blocked you, or if they are just not receiving your messages for a different reason. But worry not; there are ways to, at least, getting closer to finding out what on earth is going on when a user suddenly stops replying to your messages.
I am here to show you what you can do if you suspect someone has blocked you and how to proceed whether they have in fact blocked you or not.
How to tell if someone has blocked you
Kik, like other chat and social media applications, is understandably extremely careful about its users’ privacy. This is why there is no official or technical way of knowing for sure if you have been blocked by someone else (if you block someone, they also won’t know). Nobody receives a notification when they have been blocked. There is nothing on the platform that shows whether you have been blocked, either. This is the case not just with Kik but also with all the other similar apps out there. And there are solid reasons for this.
If you think for a moment, it is easy to understand why Kik goes to such lengths to protect its users’ privacy. Just consider in what circumstances you yourself would block someone else.
When you block someone on Kik you can always be reassured that your security is being protected and that you won’t be harassed. In a word, you feel safe. The fact that Kik goes to such lengths to protect your privacy should be reassuring. Who would want to use a chat platform that was unsafe, or one where your privacy wasn’t protected?
Since you can’t be sure if someone has blocked you for sure and can only, at best, take a close guess, you shouldn’t make any assumptions either way. Even if you strongly suspect that someone has blocked you, you shouldn’t assume that they see you as someone who might harass them! Do not read into something you couldn’t be possibly be sure about.
Now, if you still really want to find out if someone has blocked you, for whatever the reason, you need to think about the last time you spoke with them. Or, better still, you could look at your messages to see if there were any disagreements between you the last time you exchanged messages. Perhaps there was some reason why they might have blocked you. Did you argue? Did you say anything that they might have found offensive? Obviously, the more you know your contacts the more likely you’d be to guess correctly.
Here are some things to consider when you suspect someone might have blocked you:
How well do you know the person? (You can determine that by the length of time you have been in touch before)
- What was your last conversation like? Can you see any reason why they might have blocked you?
- Are they receiving your messages?
This last question can be tricky to answer for some users since some of them don’t know how to find out if their messages are being received. It is actually quite simple if, like most things in life, you know how to do it.
How to tell if someone is getting your messages
A blocked path also offers guidance – Mason Cooley
Before you jump into any conclusions, you need to be sure that there is no other reason why they are not replying to your messages. Someone not replying doesn’t necessarily mean that they have blocked you. There can be a lot of other reasons. Perhaps they just simply haven’t even read your messages. Some users, believe it or not, don’t check Kik constantly!
But, how can you know if someone is receiving your messages? It couldn’t be easier. All you need to do is just read on.
Kik uses a letter system that describes the status of each message you send. If you look closely, you will notice that messages have always one letter next to them: S, D, or R. S stands for sent, D for delivered and R for read. So, this is pretty much self-explanatory.
Sent (S), delivered (D) and read (R) are normally the three stages all messages go through. First, the message is sent from your device (S); then, it is received by the device of the person you are messaging (D) and; finally, if they haven’t blocked you, the message will be read (R).
If a message remains in sent (S) for too long, it means that there is a possibility that there has been a technical problem. In that case, you might try sending it again after a little while. How long should you wait? Now, that is relative, and I can’t tell you exactly how long you should wait before sending it again. Use your own discretion and consider the possibilities before rushing into sending it again. I’ll just say do not resend messages too readily unless you want to come across as obsessive! Remember, Kik relies on both your Internet connection and that of the recipient (i.e., the person you are messaging). If they are somewhere with no Internet, they won’t receive your messages (i.e., they’ll stay as S) until they are back somewhere with a connection. Be patient, understanding, polite, and, once again, do not jump into conclusions.
After the message has been delivered to the servers it will show a D next to it. Now, it is very important to realize that this doesn’t necessarily mean that the person you are messaging has received your message. Confusing? Not really, the D merely means that there was no technical problem delivering the message: your message made it through to the Kik server and has now been successfully delivered. But if the receiver has blocked you, they won’t see your message even if it’s showing D. This means that, from the point of view of the person who suspects having been blocked and wants to find out if they are, the D doesn’t actually provide any useful information in that regard.
They only way to know for sure that you have not been blocked is when your messages have an R next to them. If there is no way of knowing if you have been blocked for sure, there is one definite way to know when you have not, and that is when your messages are being read.
Just to summarize:
- S means your message has been successfully sent but not yet received for whatever reason. You may or may not be blocked.
- D means your message has been successfully delivered but not yet read. Again, you may or may not be blocked.
- R means the receiver has read your message. You are definitely not blocked.
How to proceed
Since you cannot ever be sure if someone has blocked you and all you can ever hope for is a close guess, my suggestion would be not to spend too much time thinking about this. Move on.
There are plenty of friendly people on Kik you can chat with whenever you want. So, it’s not worth getting hung up on someone who, whether they have blocked you or not, is not interested in talking to you.
In the same way that you shouldn’t think that someone has blocked you just because you haven’t heard back from him or her in a while, you shouldn’t spend too much time trying to find out if they have blocked you.
If you felt that you really had something in common with someone who might have blocked you, or you miss talking about a particular topic, chances are that hundreds of others on Kik share your interests. Why don’t you simply find someone else to talk to?
Kik is a wonderful platform, full of great people with a variety of interests and personalities. But, it is also a place where everyone can feel safe, where their privacy is protected, and nobody has to talk to anybody they don’t wish to.