Kik Messenger Mods On Android

The world of “modded” applications and programs has been around since there have been programs and applications for people to modify. Kik Messenger mods are no different in this regard, and many users have been taking advantage of the more open Android operating system to modify this popular chat application in order to gain access to and create a host of new functions, aesthetic, and commands to use within the app.

What exactly does it mean to “mod” an application? That’s a pretty broad umbrella of description, but at its heart, it means exactly what you might think: to adjust, change, or replace the code in an application to create the desired effect apart from what the original developers had in mind. When you’re using a modded version of an application, you’ll no longer have the support of the app’s development team should anything go wrong. Users are forced to take troubleshooting and error management into their own hands, as technically, a modified application is no longer a professionally supported program.

When it comes to Kik Messenger, a host of modifications exist online, and most of them are fairly easy to find and install. However, they’re primarily only available for the Android version of Kik. There are a few reasons that this is the case:

• Android is a more open development platform and operating system than iOS or Windows Phone
• You can install custom .apk (application files) on Android devices
• Both iOS and Windows Phone feature heavily proprietary software, which is very difficult for users to mod or hack

There’s also a level of difficulty presented by how an application’s developers choose to update the app itself. Most programs designed to run on smartphones and other mobile devices frequently interface with a host server, depending on the nature of the application. Since modified versions of apps cannot update and patch themselves in the same way that officially licensed and developed applications do, it’s very easy for modified apps to fall out of use, simply because they can no longer communicate with the host server that dictates the app’s functioning on individuals’ devices.

In essence, professionally developed apps will continue to update and improve. Modified apps are much, much slower to do this, which can sometimes make them unreliable to use.

It would be rather pointless to delve into each popular Kik Messenger mod by title; those that are available and those that actually work fluctuate far too frequently for such an exploration to remain accurate. However, it’s still possible to learn about the different ways that people are modifying Kik, and the goals that modders want to achieve through adjusting the app have changed very little between the mod iterations.

Without further ado, here are some of the top reasons that people are modifying Kik Messenger.

Give Kik More Visual Customization

Out of Kik’s millions of daily users, most are young people in their teens and 20s. It shouldn’t come as much of a shock, then, to learn that the most popular Kik Messenger modifications currently circulating revolve around the popular chat application’s aesthetic appeal. Much in the same way that individuals dress themselves to attain a unique style, many people want to dress up their mobile applications in the same way.

Kik offers a slim aesthetic customization tool right in its options, but for some, changing the color of the app’s chat bubbles doesn’t provide a diverse enough style. Therefore, an entire mod community has sprung up that revolves around injecting vibrant colors, graphics, and themes to replace the app’s otherwise unchanging aesthetic. Soft greens and off-whites are replaced by blacks, pink, blue, and other vibrant shades that compliment each other much in the same way that Kik’s original colors do; they simply do it with color that wants to pop right off of your screen!

While this is certainly the most popular way to modify Kik, there are a few things to know about the mods that allow these types of “themed” customizations. Firstly, there is no way for you to apply a theme or visual mod to an existing method of Kik that’s installed on your Android device. Instead, you’re required to install a modified version of the Kik Messenger app that has the customized theme already applied to it.

• You will not be able to update this version of Kik
• You will not be able to change Kik themes without installing a differently themed version of the app, altogether

Since modded versions of Kik aren’t officially supported, there’s no current method to swap themes at your leisure, without an entirely fresh installation of the Kik .apk.

Interested in finding custom themes and visual flair for your Kik experience? This type of mod will be found through your search engine. The Google Play store doesn’t host unofficially modified versions of popular apps like Kik.

Get More Chat Features

The Internet: transforming society and shaping the future through chat.- Dave Barry

The second most popular modification that Kik users are taking advantage of is the type that enhances and adds to the chat functions already existent within the app. Some users like to have more control over how group chats function and have created a version of Kik that allows them to add and remove “administrators” to Kik’s chat groups.

As this is a far less visual modification than those that change the entire theme of Kik Messenger, it’s a less sought after type of modification. For users that want that tighter chat control, however, a modification is the only way to achieve it. These types of modifications come with the same drawbacks as all others, also. If you’re using a mod to gain access to custom messaging features, you won’t be able to update the Kik app, and you won’t be able to change those modified assets without removing this version of Kik and installing a new one altogether.

Generating Ways to Receive Kik Points

While all modifications pose some inherent risk, this is another type that’s growing in frequency while posing an elevated amount of risk compared to the previous two types of modification.

What are Kik Points? They’re a type of digital currency that’s still in beta testing. The points are used within the Kik application to purchase emoji, images, and other small graphics that can subsequently be used in the messages that you send. Under normal circumstances, Kik Points are gained by participating in sponsored chats, surveys, and other events on Kik. Users will occasionally receive an invitation to join these types of activities on an individual basis.

However, modifications exist that allow users to fool the Kik servers into sending an abnormally high number of these invitations to the user, thereby allowing a person to accrue massive amounts of Kik Points for use on the app’s “Smiley Shop.” The user will then be able to purchase more from the shop than they’d otherwise be able to. Apart from this single, digital storefront, there currently exists no other use for Kik Points.

In spite of the points merely being tied to a somewhat less important cosmetic feature within the app, these types of modifications still adjust with the app’s ability to communicate with the Kik servers and are therefore much more likely to result in action being taken on your Kik account.

Therefore, before attempting any type of modification such as this, be aware of the cost that it can levy against everything you’ve built up on your Kik profile.

Other Cautions & Tips

There are a few other things you’ll want to keep in mind before you delve into modified versions of the Kik Messenger app. As has already been stated above, modifying a professionally developed app carries with it many inherent risks, and any problems that you encounter won’t be resolved by the app’s development team. Once an app has been modified, it’s no longer officially supported.

• First, always ensure that you’ve backed up the received images and chat logs that you don’t want to lose. Whenever you uninstall Kik (or even when you log out of your profile) all of your locally stored information will be wiped clean, leaving you without a method of retrieving it. Since Kik modders are frequently installing and uninstalling versions of Kik from their devices, this is something you’ll want to get in the habit of should you ever want to try a modified version of Kik.
• Secondly, I recommend keeping an active antivirus and security application running on your Android device. Finding and installing .apk files that don’t come from the Google Play store can result in malicious code targeting your device. Given the wide variety of free security software available (I prefer Avast!), there’s no reason not to be safe, rather than sorry.

Though the above describes a wide variety of the major types of modifications that Kik users are utilizing, many more exist. Moreover, many more will be created as users find new and interesting ways to hack the application to their own advantage. Do you have stories or tips from your own experience using Kik mods? Chime in by posting in the comments, below!