KakaoTalk is a messaging app from Kakao for text chats, voice and video calls, and community conversations. It runs on Android and iPhone, with companion apps for Windows, macOS, Apple Watch and Wear OS. The app is free to use; it shows ads and sells optional extras such as emoticons and cloud storage.
Private chats and group rooms
KakaoTalk conversations happen in one-on-one or group rooms, where members exchange text, photos, videos and files. Users can edit or delete sent messages, and messages take emoji reactions.
Users can split long group discussions with Threads. A reply opens a side conversation attached to one message, so a single topic does not get buried in the main room.
Folders and unread messages
Users can sort KakaoTalk rooms into folders such as family or work. Each folder has its own notification settings. An Unread folder collects rooms with new messages. Users can preview unread messages without marking them as read, so the sender still sees them as unopened. For busy rooms, Kakao’s Kanana AI can summarize the messages that piled up while the user was away.
Voice Talk and Face Talk calls
Voice Talk is the app’s voice calling, and Face Talk its video calling. Group calls of either type take up to 10 people. A voice call can switch to video. Participants can share their screen, and Face Talk adds visual screen effects. KakaoTalk saves recorded voice calls into the chat as speech-bubble text. It can also generate a summary of the call from the recording.
Open Chat communities
Open Chat lets people join rooms with strangers who share an interest, either by searching public rooms or by following an invitation link. The Open Chat home shows real-time trending topics, and people can view the content of trending rooms before joining.
Group Open Chat rooms can host a Voice Room. The room’s owner or sub-owners start this live audio session. Hosts approve who may speak, with up to 10 hosts and speakers at a time, while a much larger audience listens. Rooms can be scheduled and keep playing in picture-in-picture alongside the text chat.
Profiles and the Friends feed
Each KakaoTalk account has a customizable profile. The user can choose which profile appears in each chat room. The Friends tab includes a feed where friends post daily updates. A short-form video section lets users send clips straight into a conversation.
ChatGPT inside KakaoTalk
A ChatGPT button at the top of the Chats tab opens ChatGPT for Kakao. It works with or without an OpenAI account, with usage limits on the free tier. Users can share answers to a chat room. Connected Kakao Tools let ChatGPT pull information from services such as Kakao Map, gifting and the Melon music service.
Users can also add ChatGPT as a chatbot to a one-on-one or group room. Members type @ChatGPT with a request, and it replies in the room to whoever asked. It can answer questions, draft messages or create images.
Talk Cloud backup
Talk Cloud (Talk Drawer) is a paid subscription that stores chats, photos, videos, files and links outside the phone for recovery after a lost or replaced device.
Desktop and watch apps
The Mac version of KakaoTalk brings chats, Open Chat, folders, Threads and group calls to a computer. A Lock mode keeps KakaoTalk secure while the user is away from the computer. The user can log out of a desktop session remotely from the phone. The Wear OS and Apple Watch apps sync with the phone. On Wear OS they show recent chats and send quick replies or simple emoticons.
