Group chat apps like Kik, and which one to actually use
Looking for group chat apps like Kik? Here is what made Kik different, which apps keep the username-first feel, and what to check before you join a group.
If you want a group chat app like Kik, you probably want three things: a username instead of a phone number, public groups you can find by topic, and no pressure to hand your real contacts to a stranger. The apps that come closest today are Telegram for big public groups, Discord for communities that stay together, and Signal if you want a username and privacy more than crowds. If what you miss is wandering into a room full of people you have not met, that is what I built Hashti for. I am Connery, Hashti is mine, and I will be honest about where each of these fits and where they do not.
What people actually mean by "like Kik"
Kik never worked like WhatsApp. You picked a username, and that was your identity. Nobody needed your number. You could search public groups by topic and drop into one in a minute. That combination is rare, and it is why people still search for a replacement years after Kik nearly closed and was bought by a new owner.
So when someone asks for an app like Kik, I hear one of these:
I do not want to give out my phone number. That is a privacy ask, and it is reasonable.
I want to find groups about things I like. That is a discovery ask. Contact-list apps are bad at it.
I want to talk to people I have not met, in a group, not one on one. That is a rooms ask, and it is the hardest to get right safely.
The other side of the Kik model is worth saying plainly. Usernames and open groups also made Kik a place with a lot of spam bots and a lot of people who were not who they said they were. Any app that copies the good parts has to answer for the bad parts too. Keep that in mind as you read the list.
Telegram: the closest match for public groups
Telegram is the most direct answer for group discovery. Groups can be enormous, they have names and public links, and you can show a username instead of your number. Channels and groups about almost any topic exist, and search inside the app will find many of them.
The honest limits. Telegram still asks for a phone number to sign up, even if you hide it afterward. Big public groups get a lot of spam, and moderation depends entirely on whoever runs the group. Telegram's regular chats are not end-to-end encrypted by default, only the separate secret chats are, which matters if privacy is your reason for leaving a phone-number app. And a group of ten thousand people is not really a conversation. It is a feed with comments.
My opinion: Telegram is the best app on this list for finding a group about a specific interest fast. It is a weak choice for actually meeting the people in it.
Discord: for groups that stay together
Discord is built around servers, which are communities with their own channels, rules and moderators. You sign up with a username. Servers can be public or invite-only, and the good ones have real moderation because the people running them care.
The honest limits. Discord is heavy. New users often find it confusing, with channels, roles and notification settings to figure out before they say hello. Discovery is weaker than Telegram's, since most servers are found through links on other sites rather than inside the app. Voice is excellent, but text in a busy server moves fast.
My opinion: if you had a Kik group of friends who want a permanent home, Discord is the strongest option. If you want to drift from room to room and meet new people, it is not what Discord is for.
Signal: usernames now, privacy first
Signal added usernames, so you can give someone a handle instead of your number. Groups are private, end-to-end encrypted and limited to the people invited. There is no public group directory and there never will be, because that is the point.
The honest limits. Signal still needs a phone number to create the account, it just lets you hide it. There is nothing to discover. If you do not already know the people, Signal has no way to introduce you.
My opinion: Signal is the right app for the group you already have, especially if the chat should stay private. It is the wrong app if "like Kik" means meeting people.
WhatsApp and iMessage: not like Kik, but probably where your friends are
I include these because people ask. Both are tied to your phone number or Apple account, both are great for a group of people you know, and both are useless for finding strangers with a shared interest. WhatsApp has communities and larger groups now, but you still join by invitation. If your real goal is "a group chat that everyone will actually open," the answer is usually whichever of these your friends already use, and you can read my longer piece on picking a group chat app by who is in it.
Where Hashti fits
Hashti is a free chat app, 18+, out now on the App Store. Android is in its closed test. It has public rooms with names and topics, plus private chats, calls and a walkie-talkie. The rooms part is the Kik-like part. You open the app, you see rooms with a topic, and you walk into one. Nobody needs your phone number to talk to you, and nobody in a room gets your contacts.
Here is what I did differently, because I remember what went wrong in the old open apps.
Everyone who matters has been checked once. Identity is verified against a government document a single time. The photo is deleted and a fingerprint of the document stays, so the same document cannot open a second account. Unverified accounts cannot host rooms, speak in voice rooms or message strangers. That one rule removes most of the bot problem and most of the fake-account problem that followed Kik around. The details are on the safety page.
Reports close accounts. Twelve verified reports closes an account permanently. Not a timeout. Closed.
It is 18+ only. I will say this once and plainly. Hashti is for adults. That is a rule, and it is one of the reasons the verification exists.
Languages are handled. Live translation covers 29 languages. That part is in Hashti Plus, at $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. Everything else is free. If your old Kik group was half in English and half in something else, the translation page explains how that works in a room.
What Hashti does not do
I would rather you know this now than delete the app later.
There is no giant public group directory the size of Telegram's. Rooms exist because people host them. A topic you love might have an empty room at the hour you look. If you want to find ten thousand people talking about one video game tonight, Telegram or Discord will serve you better today.
The app is in English for now. A Farsi version is being built. If English is not your language, that is a real limit until it ships.
Android is not out yet. If your whole group is on Android, you are waiting on the closed test.
Verification is a step. Some people do not want to show a document to any app, and I understand that. If that is you, Hashti is not for you, and I would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
What to check before you join any group app
This is the checklist I would hand a friend, whichever app they pick.
What does it need from you to sign up. A phone number you can hide is different from no phone number at all. Know which one you are getting.
Who can message you. If any account on the service can send you a private message with no checks, expect spam, and expect worse than spam.
Who runs the group. Public groups live or die on moderation. Look at the rules and look at whether anyone enforces them before you post.
What happens when you report someone. A report that goes nowhere is a decoration. Find out whether reports actually close accounts.
What the app does with your contacts. Some apps ask for your address book the moment you open them. You can say no, and you should until you know why they want it.
How you leave. Blocking and leaving should be two taps. If it takes a search through settings, that tells you how much the app cares about the person being bothered.
My honest pick
If you want the Kik feel of finding groups fast, start with Telegram and accept the spam. If you want a permanent home for a group you already have, use Discord. If you want privacy for a small group, use Signal. If you want public rooms where the people hosting and talking have been checked, and you are an adult, try Hashti and host a room on the topic your old Kik group was about. Then invite two friends before you invite the public, because an empty room looks closed and a room with three people talking looks open.
None of these is Kik. Kik was a specific thing at a specific time. What you can get today is the good part of it, with a lot less of the bad part, if you pick the app for what you actually want to do.
Hashti is free, and it is 18+. Hashti Plus — live translation, writing help and catch-ups — is $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year, and nothing else costs anything. How rooms work is on the rooms page, and how reports and the ID check work is on the safety page.