If you’re looking to take control of your Kik account or your child’s account, you’re probably wondering how you can permanently delete Kik from your device. Some apps make it difficult or impossible to delete your account, but what about Kik? What kind of hoops do you have to jump through to get rid of the app from your phone?

In this guide, we’ll show you everything you need to do to permanently or temporarily deactivate your account on this popular messaging app. Looking for a Kik replacement? Check out our best messaging apps for iOS and Android.

There is a difference between deactivating an account and deleting it — which Kik refers to as temporary deactivation versus permanent deactivation. Temporary deactivation means that you will temporarily stop receiving Kik messages and emails, your username will not be searchable, and your name will get deleted from your contacts’ lists. But you can reactivate your account if you wish by signing back in. To deactivate or permanently delete your account, go to Kik’s website either on your phone or your computer. You can access the proper web page on your phone by using the app’s Help section and typing in “Delete Account” to the search box.

To temporarily deactivate your Kik account, use the  Kik deactivation portal to get an email sent to you.

Permanent deletion means your Kik account will be gone forever. Once deleted, it cannot be restored. You will not receive messages or get emails from Kik ever again. No one will be able to search for you on the platform and your username and profile will be forever expunged from your friends’ contact lists. Once you permanently deactivate or delete your account, you’ll no longer be able to log back in or access contact information or message history. If you ever want to use the service in the future, you’ll have to sign up again with a different email address.

To permanently delete your Kik account, use the Kik deletion portal to get an email sent to you.

Deleting a teen’s account means it will no longer be searchable within Kik, and the account will be deleted from the Kik contacts lists of all the teen’s chat companions. Parents need to know their child’s username and the email address they used to register for the account. Here is how to find a teen’s username.

Kik usernames do not have spaces and can mix upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters. If the teen has reset their Kik account, parents may be able to find their username on the login screen. For parents who want to keep tabs on their children’s activities through Kik, Kik advises them to monitor activity from their child’s device as opposed to using their own or any other external device as Kik doesn’t share chat content across devices That’s because Kik’s privacy features will automatically clear their chat history. Kik does not see or store chats between users.

Parents also have the power to disable their child’s account if they want. To do that, they must submit a deletion inquiry to Kik via email at [email protected] with Parent Inquiry in the subject line. The request must include the teen’s Kik username and age.

There are many reasons why you may decide to quit Kik, and the company has made it easy to disengage for anyone who chooses to do so. Kik lets parents go a step further if they need to by allowing them to block their kid’s access to the app entirely.