Is chikka.com Safe?

Unlike sending SMS via something like Yahoo! IM, where the recipient of the message clearly sees that the message was sent via Yahoo and that there will be a charge if the recipient replies, Chikka is very sneaky. With Chikka even if you did not opt in to their service, the SMS you receive looks like it came from a mobile phone in your address book. Yes, you will receive 1 message (still appearing to be from your contact's mobile phone) saying... "Fr: ##########. If you don't know this person please reply BLOCK. It is FREE to receive Chikka messages. P2.50/txt" So if you reply to that text to opt out of Chikka, you have to pay P2.50. Chikka still gets money from you because you are still replying to your contact's Chikka number, as if you are replying to a regular text message. And if another person sends you a message via Chikka and you don't want that happening, well it's another P2.50 for that because that's another opt-out. Et cetera, et cetera. The opt out option is not for all of Chikka, it is opting out per Chikka user. So whether someone wants in or out of Chikka messaging as a recipient of SMS, Chikka will still somehow get their money. That is very devious. I consider it very unethical.

Chikka provides free but limited number of text message sending to Globe, Smart, and Sun cellular networks in the Philippines, all replenished the next day. So if you need text on-the-go or you simply got no load, then give Chikka a try, although it should not be relied upon for emergency or urgent messages.