Kik is a highly popular and fairly new cross-platform messaging app that’s famous for its emphasis on privacy and anonymity. Given the importance that Kik places on its users’ privacy, it’s unsurprising to find out that their system for blocking users is strict and straightforward.
If you find yourself needing to block an unwelcome friend-wannabe, you can take comfort in knowing that your virtual personal space is being respected. On the other hand, if you’re on the other side of the blocking coin, you’ll find that you have little or no recourse.
In fact, Kik won’t even tell you that you’re being blocked. However, with a little detective work, you can find out that you’ve been blocked, even if you never find out why.
What is Blocking?
Everybody knows that blocking means setting a social media app to prevent another user from contacting you, but what is technically happening when the block process goes into effect? The answer is fairly simple: the blocker will not receive any of the blockee’s messages. Other platforms have different systems, but on Kik, the blockee can still send messages. (It’s part of Kik’s policy to not inform someone that they’ve been blocked. ) The blockee can keep sending messages, it’s just that those messages will never be received.
It’s important for anyone thinking of blocking someone to note that this will not affect any communications prior to the blocking. Blockees can see all of your shared communication history. Don’t perform this action in an attempt to remove unwanted information; that won’t work.
How Do I Block or Unblock Someone?
First, let’s look at how you block or unblock someone on Kik. These steps may differ depending on your device.
On Android:
- Open a chat with the person you wish to block.
- Click or tap on their name at the top of the chat.
- Click or tap the three dots at the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
- Click or tap Block “name. ”
- Click or tap Block again to confirm the action.
On iPhone:
- Go to Settings.
- Tap Privacy.
- Tap Block List. (Note: you can come here to view a list of all users that you’ve blocked.
- Tap the plus sign.
- Tap the user’s name.
- Tap Block.
Note that you can also report a user (in the same menu where you found Block). When should you report someone? Probably if they’re being wildly inappropriate, and definitely if they are being threatening or abusive.
Unblocking someone is as easy as blocking them. Simply follow the same steps as you see above. You’ll notice that it says “unblock” wherever it used to say “block. ” However, if you block someone, they will disappear from your contact list, so you’ll have to search for them to unblock them.
How Can I Tell if I’ve Been Blocked?
Kik will not notify you if you’ve been blocked. There will be no special message, no banners, and no alerts. There are two ways to know if you’ve been blocked.
The first way is by paying close attention to your sent messages. Whenever you send a message through Kik, you’ll notice that it has a small “S” to the left of the message. The “S” stands for “Sent”. The letter will later change to a “D” which stands for “delivered. ” However, once the user that you are trying to reach actually sees the message on screen (whether they actually READ it or not is a different question) the “D” becomes an “R” for “received. ”
Delivered:
Received:
Note that when a user is blocked, his or her messages can be sent but not received. If your messages to a specific user never turn from “S” to “D” to “R,” then you have almost certainly been blocked by that user. The only other explanation might be a technical issue. However, there are no commonly known Kik technical issues associated with messages being sent but not received.
The other way to tell if you’ve been blocked is to start a group chat, and invite the user to the chat. If you cannot add them, it’s because they’ve blocked you.
Can I Get Around the Block?
No. If you’ve been searching online for a way to tell if someone’s blocked you on Kik, then you might have come across a popular strategy for circumventing the block. Websites were instructing blocked users to invite the blockers to a group chat and message them through the group chat. This strategy may have worked for a while, but it has since been fixed in a Kik update. Now, blocked users can no longer invite blockers to group chats.
The only way to get around a block, is to get unblocked. The only way to do that is to appeal to the user who blocked you by contacting them in some other way and have them unblock you on their end. If you have no way of contacting that person other than through Kik, you’ll just have to be patient and see if they decide to do it on their own. If you can contact them on some other forum, do remember that they blocked you for a reason, and it’s not a good idea to go around harassing people online.
