Kik is a Canada-based instant messaging service that initially gained popularity, mostly among teens, due to the anonymity it provided to the users. Even now, an email ID is enough to join the chat service on Android and iOS. Founded in 2009, Kik boasts of features similar to WhatsApp and also has public groups like Telegram does where people can meet and chat with new people with similar interests. However, due to the lack of phone number verification, it’s common to have lots of fake profiles, with fake names and fake email addresses. All of this coupled with the fact that the company is focussing more towards its cryptocurrency has made updates on the platform slower, which has affected its user base. And due to its anonymous nature, certain parents are also skeptical about the platform and wish to pull their kid out.

Kik offers users two options when they wish to get off the platform — either deactivate your account temporarily or permanently (in other words, delete it). Here we’re going to talk about how deactivating your Kik account is different from deleting it altogether.

Temporarily deactivating Kik account

If you choose to temporarily deactivate your Kik account, you’ll no longer receive Kik messages or emails from the company, your Kik username will no longer be searchable and lastly, your name will also be deleted from the contact lists of the people that you talk to on the app.

You can temporarily deactivate your Kik account here. Remember, that you’ll require access to your email address that was used to create the Kik account to be able to deactivate it.

Temporarily deactivated accounts can be reactivated simply by signing back into Kik with the same account.

Note that deactivating your account won’t make you disappear from the device of the people who’ve searched you or sent you a message instantly since they’ll be able to access a cache of your profile available on their device. This cache might take a few days to disappear and so will your profile. The same applies in case you delete your Kik account.

Deleting (or permanently deactivating) Kik account

Permanent deactivation is just another word the company uses instead of deleting the Kik account. Once you’ve permanently deactivated or deleted your Kik account, you’ll no longer be able to access your account again unless you sign up for the service again. Information such as contacts and message history will be lost.

Similar to temporarily deactivated accounts, deleted accounts will not receive any correspondence from Kik, their Kik username will no longer be searchable and lastly, their name will also be deleted from the contact lists of the people that they’ve talked to on the app.

You can delete your Kik account here. Remember, that you’ll require access to your email address that was used to create the Kik account to be able to deactivate it.

Also read: Deactivating vs Deleting Facebook account