Back in September, Kik Interactive CEO Ted Livingstone published a Medium article revealing that the company would be killing the popular anonymous messaging app to concentrate on its cryptocurrency Kin.
The reasoning was simple: the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had issues with Kin, and Kik Interactive decided to streamline to fight the battle in court. Kik Messenger and somewhere in the region of 100 employees were the casualty.
But fans of the messaging app have a reprieve. Kik Messenger has been acquired by MediaLab, the owners the secret-sharing Whisper app.
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The news was introduced to users in a blog post on the site in the form of a short FAQ from the incoming owners. Amongst the questions and answers is the reassurance that MediaLab is there for the long haul. “We believe that Kik’s best days remain ahead of it,” the response reads.
“We know that Kik has been home to millions of you for many years. While we’re really excited about all the potential, we promise to never lose sight of what makes Kik special.
“We don’t plan on screwing it up but just in case we’re veering off course, we’re counting on all of you to keep us honest so don’t hesitate to reach out!”
While the company has vowed to work on fans’ long-term wishlist of features (“yes we want larger group sizes and the ability to remove inactive group admins too”) the current priority is apparently fixing bugs, making it faster, eradicating spam bots and improving the one-to-one chat experience.
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It’s generally a positive opening salvo to fans nervous about the future of their app, but there is one ominous storm cloud: ads. “As part of that long term commitment, we need to ensure that we’re able to cover our expenses,” the post explains. “So over the coming weeks we’ll be introducing ads to the service.”
Reassurances followed: “While we know that some of you may not love that idea we plan to do it in a way that it is non-intrusive, and in no way takes away from what makes Kik great (no annoying full screen video takeovers or things like that).”
Are you a Kik user? How do you feel about the new owners? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter: @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
