There are many reasons that you might want to permanently delete your account when using a mobile messaging app. Though Kik Messenger makes this process particularly easy, the deactivation of your account still deserves a little bit of forethought before you relinquish the small corner of webspace that your Kik profile creates for you.
Has your account been hacked? Did your username unintentionally make it into unwanted hands? Receiving too many spam messages for you to enjoy your experience? Maybe you just need a fresh start! The possible reasons for wanting to delete your Kik account are endless, but they don’t all imply a sense of finality. Maybe you want to start over with a new email address and user profile, or with a new set of contacts.
No matter your reason, there are some considerations to make surrounding the process of account deletion, as well as certain steps to take when you decide to see it through. Thanks in part to how little personal information Kik requires when setting up a profile, it’s actually relatively easy to deactivate your Kik account. It should be noted, before proceeding, that there’s no way to entirely remove your information from Kik. However, deactivating your profile will largely “delete” you from other users’ contacts.
Why Are You Deleting Your Kik Profile?
It may seem like a strange time to ask this question when you’re already curious about the deleting process. However, it’s worth some consideration! If you’re only taking a break from Kik Messenger and intend on returning to it with the same email address, it’s still possible to delete your account and resume using it when you’re ready to come back. However, depending on your reasons for deleting your account, this may not be favorable.
Though I’ll elaborate upon this below, it’s important to remember that you’ll lose a few things upon deactivating your Kik account. Your chat history will be wiped clean, and you’ll no longer appear on the contact lists of people who previously were able to chat with you. Because of this, it may be beneficial to speak to any contacts whom you’re particularly close to, and give them an alternative way to get in touch. You’ll no longer be able to receive messages at all once your account is deactivated.
If Your Kik Account Was Compromised
Recovering your account after it’s been compromised is an incredibly difficult thing to do, especially when the only contact information tied to your profile is your email address and username. For this reason, the easiest option to take might very well be to delete your Kik profile and start an entirely new one, from scratch.
“Compromised” can mean many different things. Did someone gain access to your account through illicit means? Perhaps your unique user profile was shared somewhere that it shouldn’t have been, and now you’re receiving vast amounts of unwanted messages. No matter the situation, you only have one real option apart from deleting your Kik account. You could block unwanted messages from other users, but depending on the extent to which your username was shared, even this might not be enough to make your chat experience satisfactory again.
If You’re Taking a Break from Kik
For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.- Ralph Waldo Emerson
This situation is slightly easier to manage and leaves you with a wider consideration of options than you’re left with when your account is compromised. If you’re simply needing a break from your regular Kik Messenger usage, then you don’t necessarily have to permanently delete your account. Would it suffice to simply notify your contacts that you’re not going to be around for a while? You can even uninstall the application itself from your mobile device without deactivating your Kik profile.
However, perhaps you have too many contacts to reliably update to your absence, or you simply don’t care to. In cases such as this, you can certainly delete your Kik profile and still be able to access it again when you’re ready to return. Below, I’ll outline some of the stipulations that come along with deactivating your Kik profile.
If You Don’t Intend on Returning to Kik
This is easily the most cut-and-dry reasoning you can have for deleting your Kik profile. Once you’ve deactivated your account, you will be effectively disconnected from the Kik servers, as well as all of its users. They’ll no longer be able to find you by searching for your username, and those who had it previously will no longer be able to message you. While the servers will retain Below, I’ll walk you through the steps necessary to see it done.
While the servers will retain below, I’ll walk you through the steps necessary to see it done.
Deactivating Your Kik Account
Some messaging apps make it obnoxiously difficult to deactivate or remove your account from your mobile device, but Kik keeps the process relatively simple. Since very little personal information is tied to your account, you won’t have to worry about any unwanted details remaining on the Kik server.
Tap over to the icon for Kik’s “settings” menu (found in either the top left or bottom left, depending on your operating system.) From there, simply go to “your account” and tap the “reset Kik” option. This will do several things:
- Log you out of the Kik Messenger application
- Clear the web browser and chat history from the Kik app on your mobile device
- Prepare you to deactivate your Kik account
There’s one further step you’ll have to take for full account deactivation. After following the above process, click over to Kik’s deactivation page. From here, you’ll need to enter the email address registered to your Kik account. Once this is done, your account will officially be deactivated. After completing this final step, you can now safely remove Kik Messenger from your mobile device if you don’t intend on using it again.
Deactivating your email and username from Kik Messenger will remove you from all future contacts and notifications from Kik, both through the mobile application and the email address you registered with Kik in the first place. Additionally, your contacts will not be able to search for you through your unique username, and you will be removed from any contact lists you were previously on. If and when you decide to return to Kik Messenger, you’ll have to rebuild your contact list.
If deactivating your Kik account was your only goal, then this is the final step in the process! However, many users decide to return to their friends on Kik after some time spent away. If you find yourself in that situation, or expect that you’ll want to return to the messenger in the near future, read on!
Reactivating Your Kik Account
No matter your reasoning for wanting to come back, it is definitely possible to restore your Kik profile. The Kik servers store your unique username and email address together, meaning that you’ll be able to use both when reactivating your account. However, as with the deactivation process, there are a few things you’ll want to consider before proceeding:
- Was your account previously compromised? If so, you may want to set up an entirely new profile.
- Were you receiving a large number of unwanted messages? If your user profile was shared too widely or made its way to people that you’d rather not have it, then a brand new profile may be in order.
- If you had no previous trouble with your account, then reactivating your account is both easy and safe!
The Kik servers never entirely remove your contact information, even if you’ve deactivated your account. For users who find that they want to return, this is a fantastic feature. All that you’re required to do if you’d like to return to Kik Messenger is enter the same email address, username, and password that you used to create your profile!
Surprised that it’s so easy? Chalk it up to the comparatively meager amount of personal information that Kik requires of its users. Do remember, though, that all of your chat history, browser history, and contact information will have been removed from the Kik Messenger application on your mobile device.
Additionally, it’s practically as easy to start a brand new Kik profile if that’s what you’d prefer. We’ve written a handy guide to doing so, with a step-by-step description of the signup process that will get you started with a fresh account. No matter if you choose to reactivate your previous Kik Messenger account or start a brand new one, a single fact remains the same: Kik makes it exceptionally easy to get back onboard!
Thanks to the fact that you can never fully delete your profile, you can always gain access to Kik again. A simple deactivation, instead, gives most users the results they’re seeking when they ask about deleting a profile in the first place. Following the above steps, you can remove yourself from Kik if you’re done using it, take a prolonged break when you need one, or even close out one profile to set up an entirely new one.
Have you ever had reason to permanently delete a Kik messenger account? Chime in with your stories and experience in the comments below!
if i deactivate my account isit possible that it can be hacked?