How To Send Messages, Photos, and Videos on Kik (2021)

Kik has become one of the most popular instant messaging apps among young adults and teenagers. Like Snapchat or Facebook Messanger, the primary purpose of Kik is to send texts to one or more fiends at a time.

To start using Kik, log in using your email and password and allow this app to access your contacts. From there on, it is quite simple to message a person on Kik.

Before You Start

When you download the app, you need to Register your account. Tap the Register button on the Home screen and enter your information. Once you complete this step, hit the Register button again to confirm. If you’ve already registered, tap “Log In” and enter your password and email.

Your Contacts

The first time you log in, Kik will ask to access your contacts. Hit OK, and the app browses through email addresses, names, and phone numbers to find other Kik users.

If you don’t want to do this right away, there’s a way to do it manually later on. Tap the “gear” icon to access Settings, then select “Chat Settings,” and hit Address Book Matching.

Add More Friends

Sometimes the person you want to message using Kik is not in your contacts. If so, you can easily add them as long as they have a Kik account.

Tap the speech bubble at the top right and select search. Enter the real name or Kik username of your friend and choose Add. The same menu allows you to search for public Kik interest groups. Just type the keywords like pets, fashion, or celebrities, for example. And you’ll be given a list of available groups.

Do You Need to Confirm Your Email Address?

This step is not necessary to start chatting or find friends on Kik. However, confirming your email is still a good idea because it allows you to retrieve your password.

Find the “Welcome to Kik Messenger!” email, open it, and click or tap on “Click here to complete your sign-up.”

Note: The welcome email might end up in your spam or junk folder. If you cannot find it, ask Kik to resend the email.

Messaging on Kik

Sending messages on Kik is not rocket science. Tap the speech bubble menu, select a friend, and type your text in the message box. Hit Send once you finish typing and that’s it.

Note: On some devices, the Send button is actually a blue speech bubble. So if there’s no Send, hit the speech bubble instead.

Adding Emoticons

Emoticons are there to give some color and character to your Kik messages. Press the “smiley” icon above the keyboard to reveal the emoticon window and tap on one to add it to the text.

If you are not happy with the selection, you can get more emoticons at the Kik store. Tap the “plus” icon in the emoticon window and you’ll be taken directly to the store.

Video and Photo Messages

Like other messaging apps, Kik allows you to send videos or photos. There is a small camera icon underneath the chat box. Once you tap on it, Kik will ask you to allow camera roll access. Hit OK/Allow and select the image or video you want to send.

You can also type a message to go with the content.

Photos and Videos on the Fly

You can take photos, selfies, or videos from the image/video sharing menu. Press on the large circle at the bottom of the screen to record video or tap on it to take a photo. Hit Send when you finish, and that’s it.

Other Content

Besides photos and videos, Kik allows you to send memes, YouTube videos, stickers, and more. Again, tap on the “plus” icon and select a small globe. The following menu gives you a few options:

1. Memes – use images to create a custom meme
2. Sketch – create a cool doodle and send it to your friends
3. Stickers – add stickers to your messages (Kik store has a great selection of stickers but some of them are not free)
4. Top Sites – choose a website from the list of popular sites and send the link
5. Image Search – browse the internet for images based on keywords you type
6. YouTube Videos – find your favorite video and tap on it to share

What About Audio Messages?

Kik is a user-friendly messaging app with a lot of cool features. Still, you cannot send audio messages like with Facebook Messanger, but there’s a way to work around this problem. Press on the large circle to record video, cover your camera, and say what you want.

The app also features read receipts so it’s easy to track if the recipient read your message. For example, S stands for sent, D for delivered, and R for read.