Blue Kik X FAQ

In case you didn't know, on June 30, Tenor will shut down which means that GIF search and sending will no longer work in Kik.

As of the time of writing, Kik has made no effort to move to a new GIF provider. If they don't, GIFs will stop working in Kik on that date.

The good news for you is that in my app, I have tested and prepared a migration to Klipy, a new GIF provider that is fully compatible with Kik, so GIFs will keep working normally for you after the shutdown.

I will also be archiving favorited GIFs from Tenor in my system so you can keep those forever and continue to send them.

This is caused by Kik having a flaw in their servers where they re-send a message to the app up to 3 times.

Normally, Blue Kik X will filter out duplicates, but since the chat is deleted, it is no longer able to tell that it is a duplicate and re-inserts the message.

This is a difficult problem to solve, because getting it wrong means you lose actual new messages. I will think of solutions in the meantime.

This is related to the issue above. Kik will sometimes re-send the same messages over and over, causing history retrieval (the app "catching up" on messages) to take much longer because it has to keep filtering out duplicates from Kik.

I believe they are aware of this and trying to fix it by introducing a new method to fetch message history, but I can't use that yet because it will brick your account (of course), so there is no solution available for this.

Kik Live blocks some VPNs (free ones, I believe). Try turning VPN off or using a legit VPN provider that doesn't sell your data.

This is another server bug within Kik.

For a few weeks or longer, Kik made a change where they started muting chats on your behalf without telling you.

Since Stock Kik only pulls the mute list once after login, it is impossible to tell that Kik was doing this, since it always looked correct on your device.

If you want to make sure the mute state is correct, you have to mute / unmute manually, then it will stick in Kik's server correctly.

Blue Kik X is a brand new messaging app created from scratch.

It is built from the ground up with a focus on security, modern design, and speed, powered by Kotlin, Jetpack Compose, and material design.

This is not a "Modded Kik", It is a complete replacement for the legacy apps (Blue Kik and Blue Kik Clone).

There are many reasons, here's a list:

• Performance issues. Kik runs on a legacy codebase from 2010, and along with that comes a lot of bloat and serious performance issues. For example, when the app starts, it must load every single message into RAM before it can proceed. This causes freezes and memory issues I cannot fix, and is one of the biggest complaints I get. Blue Kik X solves this problem with lazy loading, which means it only loads the chats and contacts as you scroll through them instead of all at once. This means that startup times can easily be 10x faster than the legacy app on some devices.


• Connection issues. The legacy app has a lot of connection issues because it's not coded properly for newer Android versions and it uses more battery than it should. Blue Kik X uses a new approach that saves battery in the background by disconnecting itself, while still being reliable for notifications.


• New codebase. Since I wrote the entire codebase and have full control over it, this allows the app to be much better than it ever could have been before. Building my own app unlocks the ability to include great new features never before possible, and it takes way less time to test, fix, and release new updates, which means a better experience for everyone.


• Independence. I no longer have to fix Kik's bugs in the app or be limited by what MediaLab is doing (or not doing). While the app still relies on Kik to work on the server end, it allows for a future without them.


• Revolutionary experience. I always wanted to prove to myself and others that I could really build a complex application that works very well and has a great user experience. I was highly inspired by Telegram and the Kik rewrite that was cancelled when MediaLab acquired the company. It's time people got an actually good experience. Let me know how I'm doing.


• Multiple accounts. Blue Kik X supports up to 3 accounts logged in at the same time, and it is easy to switch between them. No need for clone apps!

I really want to do that because it could be a great learning opportunity for others and it would enable other people to help contribute to the project, but unfortunately I cannot open source the full project for multiple reasons:

• Kik currently has a policy of open hostility against third party clients, and has declared war against them.
  Open sourcing the full code gives them an upper hand in the war they declared, and so I cannot do that without removing some of the components until this policy is changed (especially around login).
  If MediaLab ever reads this, you should reconsider your decision, because it is wrong. Why? Telegram is massively successful, and allows ANYONE to make third party clients and PUBLISH THEM ON THE APP STORES and the result is MORE USERS on their platform. Allowing third party clients has been PROVEN to work!
• I need to implement protection measures against spammers and people looking to farm accounts to put in their spam bot account lists. Because logging in is hard, and I need to control costs, some try (and fail in almost all cases) to abuse this app for that purpose, which drives up my costs and negatively impacts the community. I need robust security in place to prevent that from happening, and that does not work in an open source project.

So far, almost all the chat features from Blue Kik exist and are ready to use, and I consider the app stable and ready to use for almost all users. I am using it on my main with no problems.

There are a few features missing, but they will be added back soon.

However, keep in mind that this app is in beta, which means there is a chance of crashes or unexpected bugs occuring. These issues will be fixed quickly as they happen, since it's easy to update.

Yes you can. On the login screen, there is an "Import account" option.

This will seamlessly copy your account, contacts, and messages over in seconds, and you can continue all your conversations as normal.

Note: Make sure that you have 6.4.2 or later installed, or this will not work!

Note: there is no way to currently transfer back to the legacy app at this time. If you want to do that you'll have to log in manually.

Yes, your existing purchases and Premium Bots move over. When you import your account or log in, they will be there as you expect them to be

Most of the basic Live features work, including browsing streams and watching streams, but it is not nearly as completed as the Chat side of the app. I will continue to work on improving it.

Since the new app has a completely new design with how messages are stored, I need to create a new backup format, and this is not completed yet.

The good news is that when you log out, your messages are automatically saved and restored when you log back in, as long as the device remains the same and you did not clear app data or uninstall.

Note: When this is completed, there will also be an end-to-end encrypted remote device transfer feature that will be free for all users, which will make moving your chats to a new device very easy.

Until then, please be patient.

All Android devices on Android 6 and up are currently supported.

iOS / Desktop is not supported yet.

The good news is that since the app is pure Jetpack compose, this means that it is possible to make the app multi platform. I also own a MacBook and iPhone so I am able to build iOS apps.

The bad news is that the codebase is not yet ready to go multi platform.

The initial goal of the app was to get it to work well on Android devices, so there is a decent amount of Android specific code that needs to be modularized and reworked first to support other targets.

I can't make any ETA or promises on when Desktop and iOS targets will be supported, but it won't be ready until well after the beta phase, as I'm focusing on the Android users I already have first.

Personal note: I am definitely interested in doing this because I love the Telegram Desktop app and use it all the time, and the iOS version on the app store is really bad at this point and lags constantly in testing. People deserve better.

Since Blue Kik X is a full replacement, the old app is no longer needed and will be discontinued in the future.

Please note that the old app will only be shut down once most users have migrated to the new app, it is out of beta, and all functionality is restored.

No ETA on shutdown yet, but when that decision is made there will be at least 45 days of advance notice that will be shown to everyone as a banner so you will have plenty of time to migrate.

No, there is no requirement to verify your age to use this app. It will work if you are "age verified" or not. I am strictly against Age / Face / ID verification and I will forever refuse to put it in any of my creations, no matter the consequences. If you hate it like me and live in the UK, this app is the perfect solution for you.