kik
- The documents do not say whether your data trains AI.
- Your data is used for personalized ads, including by third-party ad companies.
- Data is shared with partners and affiliates; you can opt out.
- Staff may review your content; the policy does not describe an opt-out.
Kik collects lots of data, shares it with many ad partners, takes a broad content license.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Account info, chats and posts, device IDs, usage, location, contacts, and data from advertisers.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We collect information you choose to upload, sync or import from a device (such as an address book or call log or SMS log history)”
Training
They personalize the app and ads, measure ads, and improve the service with what they collect.
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Privacy policy
“We use location information to personalize and improve our Services, including ads for you.”
Sharing
Posts are public; many ad companies and LiveRamp can get data; chats go to the other person.
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Privacy policy
“To perform analytics and deliver relevant content and advertising, we may allow others to collect information about how you use our Services.”
Kept
They keep account data until you ask to delete it and do not promise a deletion deadline.
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Privacy policy
“we cannot promise or guarantee that deletion will occur within a specific timeframe.”
Controls
You can request access, correction, or deletion via a privacy form, and opt out of sale or some ads.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“If for some reason you ever want to delete the information we have about you, simply contact us by using our privacy contact form and select “Data Deletion.””
Fine print
They can close you anytime, and you them.
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Terms of service
“MediaLab reserves the right, without notice and in its sole discretion, to terminate your license to use the Services”
Expand “Read the exact line” to see the source alongside the explanation.
What you can turn off
The controls and opt-outs their own documents describe, and where they say to find them.
Opt out of personal information sales
“Do Not Sell My Personal Information” on their website, or Personal Data Consent in Settings
of your data or account
Privacy contact form, select “Data Deletion,” or Email Support in product settings
Turn off location or uninstall the app
Mobile device settings, or delete the Kik app
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
Lots of outside ad companies can track how you use Kik.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“To perform analytics and deliver relevant content and advertising, we may allow others to collect information about how you use our Services.”
For example, an ad network on their long partner list can use cookies and device IDs to target ads at you.
They get a wide right to use, change, and what you post.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“You grant MediaLab a nonexclusive, , worldwide, transferable, and fully right to use, reproduce, modify, host, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, run, publicly perform or display your User Content”
For example, they could reuse your photo in marketing or give it to another company to publish.
If someone sues them because of how you used Kik, you may have to pay their legal bills.
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Terms of service
“You agree to and MediaLab, its parents, subsidiaries or affiliates, service providers, independent contractors, and consultants”
For example, if a chat you sent leads to a lawsuit against Kik, they can ask you to cover costs.
They can shut your account for any reason or none, without warning.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“MediaLab reserves the right, without notice and in its sole discretion, to terminate your license to use the Services and/or Service Materials at any time”
For example, you could lose access overnight and not get a heads-up first.
Money you spend on Kik Live credits is not refunded.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“All sales of Credits are final and we do not offer credit or refund for any purchased Credits.”
For example, if they ban your account, leftover credits are gone.
People or systems at Kik look at what you post and chat.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“For example, we review the text and/or image content of your posts, replies, chat messages, and collect metadata regarding such messages”
For example, a message you thought was private between two people can be reviewed.
Asking them to delete your data does not mean it disappears on a set date.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“we cannot promise or guarantee that deletion will occur within a specific timeframe.”
For example, after you submit the form, copies may still sit in backups for an unknown time.
If you allow location, they can track you even when you are not in the app.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“If you consent to the collection of location information (e.g. if you permit your mobile device to send us your latitude and longitude), we will collect and use this information both while you are directly using the Services and in the “background””
For example, they or ad partners may show ads from businesses near where you are.
Chat text is not kept on Kik’s servers after you log out.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“Kik does not store your messages on our servers. Once you logout of the Kik Messenger, all your messages will be lost unless you have backed them up manually”
For example, if you log out without screenshots, those chats are gone for you too.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- royalty-free
- The company can use your content without ever paying you for it. For example, your photo can appear in the app's ads and you get nothing.
- sublicensable
- The company can pass its rights over your content on to other companies without asking you. For example, an app can let an advertiser or a partner reuse your video under the licence you gave.
- indemnify
- You promise to pay the company's legal costs and losses if your use of the service gets it sued. For example, if you post a song you do not own and the label sues the app, you owe the app's lawyer bills.
- affiliates
- Other companies owned by or connected to the same parent company. For example, if you use one app, its sister apps under the same owner may also get your data.
- service providers
- Outside companies that handle your data on the app's instructions, such as a cloud host or an email sender. For example, the company that stores the app's files in the cloud sees your data but only does what the app tells it.
- consent
- Your clear agreement to something, given by an action like ticking a box or tapping Accept. For example, a pop-up asking if the app may use your location is asking for consent.
How we got here · grade D · score 38/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 2 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect account info, posts and chats, device IDs, usage, precise or approximate location, and may import address books, call logs, or SMS history, plus data from advertisers.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
Their California chart says they do not collect biometric or sensory data such as faceprints or voiceprints.
Are your chats and uploads used to train AI models, and is that off by default?
Not stated in the documents.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
They say they review the text and images of posts, replies, and chat messages, and they may monitor use, with no review opt-out described.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
They let many advertising companies collect how you use the app and share hashed email and device data with LiveRamp for targeted ads.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They share with advertisers and others in ways they treat as a “sale,” and they offer a Do Not Sell opt-out.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You keep ownership of original content, but you grant a worldwide, transferable, fully sublicensable license; Kik’s extra terms also call it irrevocable until you delete the content.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You delete an account or data by contacting them. They keep some data as needed and do not guarantee a deletion timeframe. They say chat messages are not stored on servers after logout.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
Not stated in the documents.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They describe technical and organizational security in general terms and say no system is 100% secure. No audit or leak history is given.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
You must be at least 18. They say they do not knowingly collect from anyone under 18, with no extra age-check described.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The policies are dated. They post a notice and say you can review changes before they take effect, but continued use means you accept, and retention is not a fixed period.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They can suspend or terminate your account at any time, for any or no reason, without prior notice. Remaining Kik Live credits are not refunded.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is “as is,” liability is capped at fees paid in 12 months or $100, and you must indemnify them for claims tied to your use or content.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Kik Live credits are non-refundable even if they expire, are revoked, or your account is terminated. Auto-renew of a messenger subscription is not clearly described.
The privacy policy is 9,285 words at a college level (Flesch reading ease 44.6); the terms are 6,873 words at a college level.
