When was kik released

But in September, Kik Interactive announced it would shut down the messenger app after a fight with regulators. The company has been spared from closure by MediaLab, which also owns Whisper, another anonymous social media app on iOS and Android. The company said that to cover the app's expenses, it's introducing ads. It also said it would develop the app to be faster, more reliable and remove bugs. The Kik Interactive team did not return a request for comment Saturday on whether it still plans to layoff its Kik staff.

Read More. Kik Interactive said in September it plans to focus its remaining resources entirely on growing its cryptocurrency, Kin, the subject of a recent lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Launched in , Kik pulled in a wide swath of users with the promise of being able to chat anonymously.

Users were not required to register with a phone number or other personal details. Kik Messenger, the chat network with million registered users, has opened up to third-party developers by launching Bot Shop, a platform for developers to make and launch chat bots, the company said in a news release Tuesday. The Waterloo, Ont. That means Kik users — which include around 40 per cent of all U.

Kik founder and CEO Ted Livingston has been pushing bots as the future of instead of apps, even going so far as to describe a possible future scenario where a Kik user at a Blue Jays game could scan a code through a chat app, order drinks and food from their seat and pay online by bot, instead of downloading another, separate app specific to a stadium or sporting arena.

You just scan and chat," Livingston wrote. Research by Catalyst Canada, a search marketing agency, showed that people are downloading fewer smartphone apps, and instead relying on a smaller number of core apps more often. Accessories Buying Guides How-tos Deals. Health Energy Environment. YouTube Instagram Adobe. Kickstarter Tumblr Art Club. Film TV Games. Fortnite Game of Thrones Books. Comics Music. Filed under: Apps Tech Cryptocurrency. Kik Messenger will live on after Kik sells it to focus on cryptocurrency New, 4 comments.