Law enforcement officials are increasingly concerned about apps that offer users greater anonymity and reach. Unlike some competing apps, Kik says it does not have the ability to view written messages between users, or to show them to the police. But Kik says it can find users on its system with only a user name.

Can your Kik be traced?

Can Kik messages be traced? By-and-large, messages on Kik Messenger cannot be traced. Kik does not have access to content sent over the app, and residual data regarding messages is deleted shortly after they are sent.