There is no doubt that Kik Messenger apk is a hugely popular instant messaging app. Millions of people around the world use the Kik Messenger app (application) from their smart phones or other mobile devices.
There is also no doubt that part of the success of Kik Messenger is precisely its availability as a mobile app. This makes messaging with friends and family incredibly convenient. Some users, though, wish that they could also use Kik Messenger from their home computers. If you are reading this article, there is more than a slim chance that you would be one of those people.
In this article we will show all you need to know to download Kik Messenger APK files so that you can do precisely that: use Kik Messenger from your home computer.
What Exactly Are APK Files?
If you already know what an APK file is you might as well skip to the next section of this article. If, however, you do not really understand what an APK file is, do read on. We will try to explain what an APK file in as informative and easy to understand way as we possibly can.
All computer programs are contained in a file. There are different types of files, for example, you may have seen .exe files. Exe files (.exe) are the file extensions for executable file formats (exe is short for executable). So, we may have noticed that when you download new programs to your home computer, you download .exe files. When it comes to Android OS (Android mobile operating system), the app files have a different extension: .apk instead of .exe. APK stands for “Android application package”. If this sounds a little bit too highfalutin to you, all it boils down to is that APK file is the name of the file that Android applications (such as the Kik Messenger app).
- The only important thing to know about this is that, without an .apk file, Kik Messenger cannot run on any device (and this would also include your home computer).
- This is not an issue when your download and installed the Kik Messenger app from the Google Play app store or the Apple app store directly to your smart phone or any other mobile device compatible with Kik Messenger. This is because when you download the Kik Messenger app for free from an app store, you are also downloading the apk file without any extra effort.
The problem then arises when you need to bypass the app stores (either the Apple app store or the Google Play app store). In that case, you would need to find a way of downloading the APK file separately. It is not possible to download Kik Messenger directly to your computer from an official app store. So, if you want to use Kik Messenger on your home computer you will inevitably need to download Kik Messenger’s APK file.
But using Kik Messenger on your computer is not the only reason for downloading APK files. It is also handy to know how to download an APK file if you are interested in using an older version of the Kik Messenger file (whether it would be on your smart phone, any other mobile device, or home computer), or if you want to an Android emulator on your PC in order to run the Kik Messenger app.
How Do You Download an APK File?
The good news is that there are many places you can find APK files to download from on the Internet. You will always need to proceed with caution, however, as none of those sites offering APK downloads are actually official. It is important to highlight that the only official or authorized sites to download the Kik Messenger app from are the official app stores including the Google Play app store, the Amazon app store, the Apple app store, the Windows app store.
A simple Internet search will bring up a lot of sites offering APK files (just search for “Kik Messenger APK file download” or something else along those lines). Look around for the right kind of file. Many of them will inevitably be quite outdated. So, it is worth looking around until you find the right version you wish to download and use. Some people like earlier versions of the Kik Messenger app, and these are very easy to find online. However, if you are after the latest version of the Kik Messenger app, it may take considerably longer to find it. So, be patient and prepared to spend time until you find exactly what you are looking for.
If you want to use Kik Messenger on your home computer, you will need to download an Android emulator first. An Android emulator is a piece of software that would essentially allow you to turn your computer into a giant Android device. The benefits of using an Android emulator is that you will be able to use all the apps available for Android smart phones and mobile devices on your computer.
“I believe Android will be stronger in the developing world than it is in the developed world.”- Fred Wilson
Again, a good piece of advice would be that you should shop around until you find the Android emulator that best fits your needs. Normally, pretty much any Android emulator will do the trick when it comes to using the Kik Messenger app on your computer, but if you also want to use other apps or play online games, etc. it is probably worth spending some time looking through the different Android emulators available until you find the right one. You should also bear in mind that whereas most of them offer many free features, others work better or offer different extra features if you are willing to pay money.
So, provided you already have an Android emulator in place, all you will need to do next is to find a Kik Messenger APK file.
As all the sites that offer APK file are unofficial, it would be a good idea to be extra cautious. We say this because some of those sites may contain viruses, malware, or adware. If you have the smallest suspicion a specific APK download site may contain any of those, then you should not download anything from it. You will never be able to know if any of the sites offering APK file download are 100 percent safe. This is because, as we said earlier, none of them are official. If you are not comfortable with taking the risk of using those sites, then you should stick to downloading the Kik Messenger app to your smart phone or mobile device from an official app store. Having said that, it is quite possible to download the Kik APK file safely from the Internet is you are extra vigilant.
Once you have an Android emulator on your home computer, go to one of those APK download sites and follow the Android emulator installation instructions. We cannot tell you here what they would be because different Android emulators follow different installation instructions. The only thing we can tell you about it if that if you are intending to transfer the APK file to your smart phone or mobile device after you downloaded using an Android emulator (for example, if you are wanting to install an older version of the Kik Messenger app), you will need to change your security settings in your mobile device.
In order to do so, all you will need to do is to grab your smart phone or mobile device, head over to your security settings, and change those to allow installing apps from unknown sources. If you do not change this, your smart phone or mobile device will only accept app downloads from the relevant official app store and you will not be able to transfer to it any of apps you have downloaded unofficially using an Android emulator on your home computer.
So, using the Kik Messenger app on your home computer is completely possible, many people do it, but it takes some extra work and involves certain risks. In this article we wanted to explain to you what your options are and what risks you may run into. We are not in any way endorsing downloading unofficial versions of the Kik Messenger app. The best way of using Kik Messenger is to download it for free from an official app store directly into your smart phone or mobile device. Not only is this the most effective way of using Kik Messenger but it is the only totally safe way of doing so. Millions of people do it like that but also many people use Kik Messenger from their home computers, so it is entirely up to you to decide what would suit you better.
If you are concerned about compromising the security of your home computer, just take the steps necessary to ensure that you have the right anti virus and anti malware protection on your computer before you go ahead and attempt to download a Kik Messenger APK file. The main thing is to be aware of any possible risks and be prepared just in case before making any decisions.