<s>
Kik	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
,	O
commonly	O
called	O
Kik	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
freeware	B-License
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
mobile	B-Application
app	I-Application
from	O
the	O
Canadian	O
company	O
Kik	B-Protocol
Interactive	I-Protocol
,	O
available	O
on	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android	B-Application
operating	I-Application
systems	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
application	O
uses	O
a	O
smartphone	B-Application
's	O
internet	O
connection	O
to	O
transmit	O
and	O
receive	O
messages	O
,	O
photos	O
,	O
videos	O
,	O
sketches	O
,	O
mobile	O
web	O
pages	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
content	O
after	O
users	O
register	O
a	O
username	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
application	O
does	O
not	O
employ	O
end-to-end	O
encryption	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
company	O
also	O
logs	O
user	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
,	O
which	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
determine	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
ISP	O
and	O
approximate	O
location	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kik	O
was	O
originally	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
music-sharing	O
app	O
before	O
transitioning	O
to	O
messaging	O
,	O
briefly	O
offering	O
users	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
send	O
a	O
limited	O
number	O
of	O
SMS	B-Device
text	O
messages	O
directly	O
from	O
the	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
first	O
15	O
days	O
after	O
Kik	O
's	O
re-release	O
as	O
a	O
messaging	B-Application
app	I-Application
,	O
over	O
1	O
million	O
accounts	O
were	O
created	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2016	O
,	O
Kik	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
announced	O
that	O
they	O
had	O
approximately	O
300	O
million	O
registered	O
users	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
used	O
by	O
approximately	O
40%	O
of	O
United	O
States	O
 '	O
teenagers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kik	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
was	O
acquired	O
by	O
Medialab	O
Technology	O
in	O
October	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kik	B-Protocol
Interactive	I-Protocol
was	O
founded	O
in	O
2009	O
by	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
students	O
from	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Waterloo	O
in	O
Canada	O
who	O
wished	O
to	O
create	O
new	O
technologies	O
for	O
use	O
on	O
mobile	O
smartphones	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kik	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
is	O
the	O
first	O
app	O
developed	O
by	O
Kik	B-Protocol
Interactive	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
October	O
19	O
,	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Within	O
15	O
days	O
of	O
its	O
release	O
,	O
Kik	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
reached	O
one	O
million	O
user	O
registrations	O
,	O
with	O
Twitter	B-Application
being	O
credited	O
as	O
a	O
catalyst	O
for	O
the	O
new	O
application	O
's	O
popularity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
November	O
24	O
,	O
2010	O
,	O
Research	O
In	O
Motion	O
(	O
RIM	O
)	O
removed	O
Kik	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
from	O
BlackBerry	B-Operating_System
App	O
World	O
and	O
limited	O
the	O
functionality	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
for	O
its	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RIM	O
also	O
sued	O
Kik	B-Protocol
Interactive	I-Protocol
for	O
patent	O
infringement	O
and	O
misuse	O
of	O
trademarks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
16	O
,	O
2015	O
,	O
Kik	O
received	O
a	O
$50	O
million	O
investment	O
from	O
Chinese	O
Internet	O
giant	O
Tencent	O
,	O
the	O
parent	O
company	O
of	O
the	O
popular	O
Chinese	O
messaging	O
service	O
WeChat	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Company	O
CEO	O
Ted	O
Livingston	O
stated	O
Kik	O
's	O
aspirations	O
to	O
become	O
"	O
the	O
WeChat	B-Application
of	O
the	O
West	O
"	O
and	O
said	O
that	O
attracting	O
younger	O
users	O
was	O
an	O
important	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
strategy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2017	O
,	O
Kik	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
was	O
silently	O
removed	O
from	O
the	O
Windows	O
Store	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
in	O
2017	O
,	O
Kik	O
decided	O
against	O
more	O
VC	O
funding	O
,	O
instead	O
raising	O
nearly	O
$100	O
million	O
in	O
a	O
high-profile	O
initial	B-Application
coin	I-Application
offering	I-Application
(	O
ICO	O
)	O
on	O
the	O
Ethereum	B-Application
blockchain	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2018	O
,	O
the	O
Kin	O
Foundation	O
released	O
the	O
Kinit	O
beta	O
app	O
on	O
the	B-Application
Google	I-Application
Play	O
store	O
,	O
restricted	O
to	O
US	O
residents	O
only	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2019	O
,	O
Kik	O
's	O
CEO	O
and	O
founder	O
Ted	O
Livingston	O
,	O
announced	O
in	O
a	O
blog	O
post	O
that	O
Kik	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
would	O
be	O
shut	O
down	O
on	O
19	O
October	O
2019	O
,	O
with	O
over	O
100	O
employees	O
laid	O
off	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
this	O
decision	O
was	O
later	O
reversed	O
and	O
in	O
October	O
2019	O
,	O
Medialab	O
acquired	O
Kik	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
main	O
attraction	O
of	O
Kik	O
that	O
differentiates	O
it	O
from	O
other	O
messaging	B-Application
apps	I-Application
is	O
its	O
anonymity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
limited	O
amount	O
of	O
data	O
from	O
a	O
particular	O
account	O
(	O
identified	O
by	O
exact	O
username	O
)	O
,	O
including	O
first	O
and	O
last	O
name	O
,	O
birthdate	O
,	O
e-mail	O
address	O
,	O
link	O
to	O
a	O
current	O
profile	O
picture	O
,	O
device-related	O
information	O
,	O
and	O
user	O
location	O
information	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
most	O
recently	O
used	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
,	O
can	O
be	O
preserved	O
for	O
a	O
period	O
of	O
90	O
days	O
pending	O
receipt	O
of	O
a	O
valid	O
order	O
from	O
law	O
enforcement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kik	O
introduced	O
several	O
new	O
user	O
features	O
in	O
2015	O
,	O
including	O
a	O
full-screen	O
in-chat	O
browser	O
that	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
find	O
and	O
share	O
content	O
from	O
the	O
web	O
;	O
a	O
feature	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
send	O
previously	O
recorded	O
videos	O
in	O
Kik	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
for	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
iOS	B-Application
;	O
and	O
"	O
Kik	O
Codes	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
assigns	O
each	O
user	O
a	O
unique	O
code	O
similar	O
to	O
a	O
QR	O
code	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
easier	O
to	O
connect	O
and	O
chat	O
with	O
other	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kik	O
partnered	O
with	O
ConnectSafely	O
in	O
2016	O
to	O
produce	O
a	O
"	O
parents	O
handbook	O
"	O
and	O
joined	O
The	O
Technology	O
Coalition	O
,	O
an	O
anti-sexual	O
exploitation	O
group	O
including	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
Twitter	B-Application
and	O
LinkedIn	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
October	O
1	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
Sony	O
Music	O
and	O
Kik	B-Protocol
Interactive	I-Protocol
were	O
given	O
a	O
Smarties	O
award	O
by	O
the	O
Mobile	O
Marketing	O
Association	O
(	O
MMA	O
)	O
for	O
their	O
global	O
music	O
marketing	O
campaign	O
with	O
One	O
Direction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Automated	O
spam	O
bots	O
have	O
also	O
been	O
used	O
to	O
distribute	O
explicit	O
images	O
and	O
text	O
over	O
Kik	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
2015	O
,	O
Kik	B-Protocol
Interactive	I-Protocol
addressed	O
this	O
issue	O
by	O
informing	O
parents	O
and	O
police	O
about	O
their	O
options	O
to	O
combat	O
child	O
exploitation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kik	B-Protocol
Interactive	I-Protocol
also	O
began	O
collaborating	O
internationally	O
with	O
law	O
enforcement	O
by	O
joining	O
the	O
Virtual	O
Global	O
Taskforce	O
,	O
a	O
partnership	O
between	O
businesses	O
,	O
child	O
protection	O
agencies	O
,	O
and	O
international	O
police	O
services	O
that	O
combats	O
online	O
child	O
exploitation	O
and	O
abuse	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kik	B-Protocol
Interactive	I-Protocol
has	O
said	O
that	O
it	O
uses	O
"	O
typical	O
"	O
industry	O
standards	O
for	O
age	O
verification	O
,	O
that	O
"	O
perfect	O
age	O
verification	O
"	O
is	O
"	O
not	O
plausible	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
the	O
company	O
deletes	O
accounts	O
of	O
users	O
under	O
13	O
when	O
it	O
finds	O
them	O
,	O
or	O
when	O
a	O
parent	O
requests	O
the	O
deletion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2016	O
,	O
Kik	B-Protocol
Interactive	I-Protocol
was	O
involved	O
in	O
a	O
high-profile	O
dispute	O
over	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
name	O
"	O
kik	O
"	O
with	O
independent	O
code	O
developer	O
Azer	O
Koçulu	O
,	O
the	O
author	O
of	O
numerous	O
open-source	B-Application
software	I-Application
modules	O
published	O
on	O
npm	B-Language
,	O
a	O
package	B-Application
manager	I-Application
widely	O
used	O
by	O
JavaScript	B-Language
projects	O
to	O
install	O
dependencies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Koçulu	O
had	O
published	O
an	O
extension	O
to	O
Node.js	B-Language
on	O
npm	B-Language
under	O
the	O
name	O
"	O
kik	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kik	B-Protocol
Interactive	I-Protocol
contacted	O
him	O
objecting	O
to	O
his	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
name	O
,	O
for	O
which	O
the	O
company	O
claimed	O
intellectual	O
property	O
rights	O
,	O
and	O
asked	O
him	O
to	O
change	O
the	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
Koçulu	O
refused	O
,	O
Kik	B-Protocol
Interactive	I-Protocol
contacted	O
npm	B-Language
management	O
,	O
who	O
agreed	O
to	O
transfer	O
ownership	O
of	O
the	O
module	O
to	O
Kik	O
without	O
Koçulu	O
's	O
consent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Koçulu	O
then	O
unpublished	O
all	O
of	O
his	O
modules	O
from	O
npm	B-Language
,	O
including	O
a	O
popular	O
eleven-line	O
code	O
module	O
called	O
"	O
left-pad	O
"	O
upon	O
which	O
many	O
JavaScript	B-Language
projects	O
depended	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Koçulu	O
subsequently	O
published	O
left-pad	O
on	O
GitHub	B-Application
,	O
its	O
sudden	O
removal	O
from	O
npm	B-Language
caused	O
many	O
projects	O
(	O
including	O
Kik	O
itself	O
)	O
to	O
stop	O
working	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
their	O
dependency	O
on	O
the	O
Node	O
and	O
Babel	O
packages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
view	O
of	O
widespread	O
software	O
disruption	O
,	O
npm	B-Language
restored	O
Koçulu	O
's	O
left-pad	O
and	O
made	O
Cameron	O
Westland	O
of	O
Autodesk	O
its	O
maintainer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kin	O
is	O
an	O
ERC-20	O
cryptocurrency	O
token	O
issued	O
on	O
the	O
public	O
Ethereum	B-Application
blockchain	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kin	O
was	O
first	O
announced	O
in	O
early	O
2017	O
which	O
marked	O
a	O
pivot	O
in	O
Kik	O
's	O
strategy	O
,	O
a	O
response	O
to	O
difficulties	O
faced	O
from	O
competing	O
with	O
larger	O
social	O
networks	O
such	O
as	O
Facebook	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Kin	O
was	O
launched	O
in	O
September	O
2017	O
with	O
an	O
initial	B-Application
coin	I-Application
offering	I-Application
(	O
ICO	O
)	O
raising	O
$98	O
million	O
from	O
10,000	O
participants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
purpose	O
of	O
the	O
token	O
is	O
to	O
facilitate	O
value	O
transfers	O
in	O
digital	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
gaming	O
applications	O
and	O
social	O
media	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
initially	O
launched	O
on	O
Kik	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
to	O
leverage	O
the	O
application	O
's	O
15	O
million	O
monthly	O
active	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
7	O
,	O
2017	O
,	O
only	O
days	O
before	O
the	O
Kin	O
ICO	O
,	O
Kik	O
announced	O
that	O
Canadian	O
citizens	O
would	O
be	O
barred	O
from	O
participating	O
,	O
citing	O
weak	O
guidance	O
from	O
the	O
Ontario	B-Architecture
Securities	O
Commission	O
for	O
the	O
decision	O
.	O
</s>
