Despite having millions of users, the popular messaging app, Kik, is shutting down.
No date has been given for when the Kik app will close, but the company said it was closing down the messaging service so it could concentrate on the Kin cryptocurrency it has also created. In a blog, Kik Interactive said the “decision had been forced on it by a legal wrangle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over Kin.” The 80 employees currently working at Kik will be laid off.
Kik Messenger launched in 2010 and proved popular largely because it lets people register and use it without providing a phone number or other credentials.
The app became increasingly popular in 2010, particularly in North America.
The app has a controversial history, as a 2018 BBC News investigation suggested it had featured in 1,100 UK child sexual abuse cases police had investigated in the past five years.
Kik said it was “constantly assessing and improving its trust and safety measures”.
