We received an intriguing reader question at the TechJunkie office this week. It was; ‘I live with someone who has trust issues. Can you use Kik without installing the app on your phone?’ This is a question we’ve been asked several times before, and it’s time for us to answer it.
You can use Kik without installing the app on your phone, but you will still need an installation. Instead it will just be on your PC. Depending on your situation, this may or may not work, but if you want to use Kik, you’ll have to install it somewhere.
Kik does not have a web interface like many other chat apps. It doesn’t even have a web extension like WhatsApp. All of them are contained within the application itself and work entirely within it. If you are not in a position to run it on your phone, you will need to install an Android emulator on your PC and run Kik from there. This is an awkward solution, but it works.
To sign up and set up, you will first need to install Kik on your phone. Once you have installed and saved a copy on your emulator, you can delete it from your phone. This is a necessary and inevitable step.
- Install and open Kik on your phone.
- Open it and create an account if you don’t have one yet.
- Sign in to Kik and make sure everything is working.
Next we need to install the emulator and Kik on your computer, make sure everything is working and then be able to delete it from your phone.
Use Kik without installing it on your phone
To get Kik to run on your computer, we need to use an Android emulator. I’m using a Windows 10 PC, but the emulator I’m using also has a Mac version. The same principles apply to both, except for the initial setup.
I am using Nox as my emulator of choice. Very stable, constantly updated and free. It doesn’t have all the features of Bluestacks, but it doesn’t cost anything either. It doesn’t have the same popularity as Andy but there are also no rumors of bitcoin mining on your PC while using it.
You don’t have to use Nox as there are many other Android emulators on the market, but these instructions will use it. If you’re using something different, just adapt them for your emulator.
- Download Nox from here and install it on your computer.
- Open Nox and enter your Google details so it can work with Android and Google Play.
- Open Google Play and find Kik and download it.
- Let the installation complete.
Android on Nox works just like any mobile device. Nox is a middleware that acts like an Android simulator. It tricks any app into thinking it’s running on Android while using PC resources. They are nothing new and have been around for decades in various forms, but they are stronger and much more stable than before.
After installing Kik, you will need to register the app using the same details you use on the mobile version. You cannot log into two apps at the same time with the same details, so log out of the mobile version of Kik and log into the emulator version.
- Log into Kik on Nox and make sure everything is working.
- To be sure, send a test message if possible.
- Uninstall Kik from your phone and say yes to wipe all data.
- Use Kik from within your emulator as you normally would.
As I said at the top, this is not the most elegant solution for using Kik without installing the app on your phone, but it works. Until Kik starts releasing a web version or desktop app, that’s what we have to play with right now.
As a quick note about other alternatives. There are several websites that offer the Kik PC app. As far as I know and research Kik does not offer such an app, so this will either be a fake or a homemade one. It might work, it might not but I wouldn’t rely on it on my computer. If you know of a different app or know one that works, let us know in the comments. I would love to be able to use one!
You can use Kik without installing the app on your phone, but it takes some work and still leaves an installation on your computer. This may or may not work depending on what you’re trying to achieve, but it’s our only option at the moment. Hopefully it benefits your business!
