Everybody who uses Kik Messenger knows how much fun chatting on the instant messaging app can be. Not only can you catch up with your friends but also you can also meet new people and even make new friends. One of the most popular ways of doing this is by exchanging text messages. Some users also like to swap pictures or use one of the many chat enhancing options available on the Kik Messenger app such as GIFs.
It is true that there are many alternative instant messaging apps to Kik, including Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. It is also true that some of those other instant chatting apps are even more popular than Kik Messenger. We still think, however, that Kik Messenger continues to be one of the most fun apps of its kind around.
It is no secret that the Kik Messenger app is particularly popular among US teenagers and other young people from the United States and other countries around the world. There could be any different reasons behind this but access to GIFs, Kik bots, stickers, and other Kik Messenger features must be, at least, in part responsible for this.
In this article we will zero in on one of those features: the one that allows you to send GIFs to other Kik Messenger users. First, we will explore what GIFs are and how you could go about using them in order to enhance your chats on Kik Messenger. We will then explain exactly what you will need to do in order to send GIFs on the Kik Messenger app.
What Are GIFs?
First of all at the actual word. It is true that it is a funny word that does not even have one pronunciation but two. Some people prefer to pronounce it “gif”, while many others have settled for “ghif”. The problem is that the word itself is an acronym. Although most people who use GIFs may not realize this, GIF actually stands for “graphics interchange format”. Do you know what else most people who use GIFs may not realize? GIFs have been around for a lot longer than instant messaging apps or social media. In fact, GIFs have been around for a lot longer than most ordinary people have been on the Internet!
The first GIF was designed as far back as 1987 by someone called Steve Wilhite who was working for CompuServe. Just to refresh your memory CompuServe (CompuServe Information Service or CIS) was one of the first major online services available to ordinary consumers in the United States and around the world.
In short, GIFs are short animated images. If you want the more technical information, a GIF picture can support up to 8 bits per pixel. What this means is that a single image can have up to 256 different colors within a color space of 24 bit RGB (red, green, and blue).
If you want a much less technical explanation, a GIF is one of those small animated pictures that are very often shared across social media and instant messaging apps. You may have seen GIFs on messages, on friend’s Facebook posts, or on tweets. Also, some news web sites such as Buzzfeed tend to make prominent use of GIFs on their articles to better illustrate their stories.
Branded and Unbranded GIFs on the Kik Messenger app
We mention some of the reasons why the Kik Messenger app may be so popular in our introduction. We could easily expand the things that make this instant chatting app so amazing and why some many millions of people use it on a daily basis. In any such list we would have to, without a doubt, include the fact that Kik has always been (and continues to be) a free app. Not only is the Kik Messenger app free to download and install on pretty much any smart phone model you can think of (and also even on some other kinds of mobile devices such as the iPod Touch), but also once you start using it there are no fees attached.
The only time when using the Kik Messenger app may cost you something would be if you incurred some network charges by using the app beyond your data allowance included in your cellular plan. Of course, you could incur those charges by using any other app or service that uses cellular data. The point is even when that happens (and situations such as that one can be easily avoided), the money you are charged does not go to Kik Interactive (the Canadian company behind the Kik Messenger app) but directly to your mobile phone provider network.
So, if the Kik Messenger app is always free to download, install, and use, who does it make money? Well, there are actually many ways but the relevant one for us right now is how the Kik Messenger app makes money from GIFs.
For one of the ways in which the Kik Messenger app (and other instant messaging apps) make money is by promoting branded GIFs.
Branded GIFs stand out because they are free to use, unlike other revenues for income including the many paid add on features such as emojis and stickers that can be found on Kik Messenger. Of course, the big elephant in the room would be ads. The problem with both paid add ons and ads is that they could kind of cheapen the app in the eyes of many current and possibly future users. Branded GIFs can be a great way for the Kik Messenger app to make money because they do not have that kind of impact on users and, even more importantly, they are free to use!
Users many not realize that they are using branded GIFs most of the time. Why? Because in fact branded GIFs and unbranded ones do exactly the same. More importantly for users, they in fact look pretty much the same too!
The only way in which you could possibly recognize a branded GIFs is by noticing a hash tag discreetly placed on it. Normally, said hash tag would be located somewhere around the lower area of the GIF and or in a corner.
How To Send GIFs on the Kik Messenger app
GIF (noun)- an image on the Internet that features animation
Whether you choose to send a branded or an unbranded GIF on the Kik Messenger app (or if you have no idea whether the GIF you would send would be branded or not), in this section we will explain exactly what you will need to do.
As with some features of the Kik Messenger app, the process you will need to follow in order to send GIFs will greatly depend on the kind of device you would be using. Having said that, generally if you follow our step by step instructions you should be able to send GIFs in any smart mobile device you use for the Kik Messenger app.
One important thing before you attempt using GIFs on the Kik Messenger app is to ensure that you are using the latest version of Kik Messenger.
So, before we go into our step by step guide on how to send GIFs, here is a reminder on how to check if your Kik Messenger app is up to date:
- Grab your smart phone (or any other mobile device you use for the Kik Messenger app).
- Launch Kik Messenger.
- Head over to the “settings” section.
- Choose the “Help and About Us” section.
- Tap on “Update Kik” if you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch; or “Check for Updates” if you use a Windows Phone.
If you use the Kik Messenger app on an Android device, then simply head over to the Google Play App Store, search for Kik Messenger and download the available update.
Okay, so once you have made sure that your Kik Messenger software is up to date, you can go ahead and follow these simple steps, whether you are using an iPhone, and iPod Touch, or an Android device:
- Grab your smart phone (or any other mobile device you use for the Kik Messenger app).
- Launch Kik Messenger.
- Go to the relevant chat (individual or group).
- Tap on the plus symbol (“+”) located on the left hand side of the message box (i.e., the field where you would normally type in your text messages). This action will open a tray with different options for chat enhancing features.
- Tap on the “GIF” icon. This action will, in turn, open the GIF tray.
- Choose how you would like to find a relevant GIF by either typing in a relevant term into the search field; checking out for GIFs are trending; or using a hash tag.
- Once you have find the GIF that you would like to share, tap on it.
- Then tap on the chat bubble icon, which is located in the bottom right hand side area of your screen.
As you can see, sending GIFs on the Kik Messenger app is extremely easy. GIFs are almost always a good idea but finding the right one for the right occasion is almost an art form. The best way to perfect this is by sending GIFs as often as possible.
Do you have any feedback about this article or Kik GIFs? If so, leave us a message in the comments section below.