Welcome to the battle of the instant messaging apps! In this round, the contenders are Kik Messenger and Facebook Messenger. Those two are among the most popular chatting apps available.
Although both the Facebook Messenger and the Kik Messenger have many features in common, there are some key differences between the two. In this article, we will go over the differences and similarities between both platforms, explaining the pros and cons involved in using one of the other.
Why Use An Instant Messaging App?
“Email, instant messaging, and cell phones give us fabulous communication ability, but because we live and work in our own little worlds, that communication is totally disorganized.”- Marilyn vos Savant
Before we go on over the different features of both instant messaging apps, it may be a good idea to talk about why people use this kind of app.
Believe it or not, instant messaging apps are still relatively new. They have only been around since smart phones became really popular a few years ago.
There are some apps, like WhatsApp that use your telephone number and this makes it too similar to use the default messenger in your smart phone. However, both Kik Messenger and Facebook Messenger connect their users without using their telephone numbers. If you want to message someone using your smart phone’s default messaging service, you will need to exchange telephone numbers. The same thing applies to WhatsApp. With Facebook Messenger and Kik Messenger, you will not need to do that. Instead, you will just give each other either a user name (Kik Messenger) or send a Facebook friend request (Facebook Messenger).
Both these instant messaging apps (and other similar ones available) are free to download or use. There is no subscription or any extra costs as long as you use a Wi-Fi network or stay within the limits of your data plan. If you use your default messaging service on your smart phone, you will be using your cellular plan which means that you may need to pay for some of the messages you send or receive, particularly if you are sharing picture or video files, or message with people located in different countries.
Kik Messenger vs Facebook Messenger: Comparing Apps
So, both messengers seem to be hugely convenient, at least, when it comes to privacy since you do not need to share anything as private as your cell phone number before you can send or receive instant messages. But if you are concerned about your privacy at all, there are basic differences between Kik and Facebook Messenger.
- Although both of them take the privacy of their users extremely seriously, there are a few things you might want to take into account. When a Kik Messenger user wants to contact another user, all they need to do is to exchange user names. Even though Kik Messenger requires an email address to be used during the registration process, that email address is always kept private and never displayed to other users. There are two reasons why the Kik Messenger requires an email address when you register on the application. The first reason has to do with your security. As part of the registration process, Kik Messenger will send you an email to ensure to protect your privacy. Also, if you ever decide to cancel your Kik account, that email address will be used so that you can complete the process. It is Kik Messenger’s way of ensuring that they are dealing with the right person and that accounts do not get cancelled accidentally or by people who are not entitled to do so. Apart from that, your email is used from address book matching.
- Address book marching allows Kik Messenger users to find one another but letting the app scan through your smart phone’s contact list (or address book) so that you can add your friends to Kik. This is optional, though, so you can opt in or opt simply by changing your settings. What is clear is that Kik Messenger will never, under any circumstances, make its users’ emails public to other users or anybody else. Using a user name and display name means that you Kik Messenger friends will not necessarily know your identity unless you tell them or you guys know one another from real life. It is advisable that you only ever chat with people you already know from real life. Protecting your identity should not be seen as a way to hide your identity and lying to others about who you really are. Instead, this should be seen as a way of protecting your identity so people you would rather not message with be not able to find you on Kik Messenger.
- When it comes to Facebook, your identity is much less protected in principle because Facebook Messenger is linked to your Facebook profile so it would use your full name. However, you are able to use your privacy settings to control who will be able to find you on Facebook or send you messages through their instant messaging app. So, as long as someone is on Facebook you will be able to find them and chat with them, unless they have set up restrictions on their privacy settings.
This is probably the fundamental difference between the two messengers we are discussing in this article. There is also a related difference. With Kik Messenger, you do not need to use any other app as it works autonomously as a stand-alone app. Facebook Messenger, however, although it is a stand-alone application on your smart phone or compatible mobile device, you will need to have an active Facebook account before you can use it. You will not actually need to have the Facebook app installed in your smart phone or mobile device if you do not want to but you will need to have an account.
In that sense the advantage of using Facebook Messenger is that you can also use the messenger on your computer or any device with Internet access. This is because Facebook, unlike Kik Messenger, has a desktop messenger, so you can use their messenger whenever, wherever you are, no matter what device you would be using. With Kik, however, there is only a mobile app available. If you want to use the Kik Messenger on a Mac computer or a PC, you will need to use an Android emulator first, which means that you will need to have a valid Google Play account with an Android device attached to it.
What Are You The Advantages of Using Facebook Messenger?
- Facebook Messenger is always synched to the cloud and that means that the app is always backed up no matter how many different devices you will use.
- Facebook Messenger allows you to have an invisible status so you can be on the app without anybody else knowing it.
- Facebook Messenger includes a media gallery.
- On Facebook Messenger you can also have a list of favorite contacts.
- Facebook Messenger you can send other users your current location. This is a great feature if you are looking to meet up with any of your contacts.
- Facebook Messenger is optimized for tablet use so using it on a mobile device or a smart phone is a great experience.
- Facebook Messenger integrates existing contact. This means that you can message anybody on your smart phone’s contact list as long as they use Facebook. You will not need to be a Facebook friend to do this.
What Are You The Advantages of Using Kik Messenger?
- With Kik Messenger you can send temporary images. You can set up your pictures to self-destruct almost as soon as they are sent giving the receiver just enough time to see them. They will not be able to see them or save them as they will only be able to see the pictures for a few seconds.
- With Kik Messenger you can choose to let strangers contact you or make so only people you have added on your chat lists will be able to do so.
- Kik Messenger has a built-in web browser. This means that you will be able to go online on the app without abandoning your ongoing chats for a second.
- Kik Messenger has a store where you can buy features or content such as stickers and others that would enhance your chats.
- Apart from video or picture files, Kik Messenger allows you to send and receive music files.
Both Facebook Messenger and Kik Messenger are really popular. And, although they have many common features there are a few separate advantages in using one instead of the other. We have not spend too much of this article explaining what these two apps have in common but have focused instead on what sets them apart. If you were hesitating on what instant messaging app would better suit your needs, we hope that you have found this article informative.