Apple Shuts Down App That’s Brought iMessage on Android

A few days after the Beeper team proudly disclosed a way for users to send blue-bubble iMessages directly from their Android phones without the use of weird relay servers, and about a day after it became clear Apple had taken action to shut that down, Apple has offered their perspective on the matter.

The firm takes an expected stance on this issue, saying that it is only working to protect consumers’ rights and ensure the security and privacy of their iMessages.

This assertion draws multiple conclusions. First off, it should be mentioned that Beeper Mini has actually been discontinued by Apple. Beeper is a custom created service that connects to iMessage through Apple’s own push notification system, intercepting and sending iMessage messages to your smartphone. To do this, Beeper needed to convince Apple’s servers that it was pinging the notification protocols from an actual Apple device—even if it was obviously not. What Apple refers to as “fake credentials” are these. Quinn Nelson of Snazzy Labs created a great video that walks viewers through the entire process.)

As per Beeper’s literature, your privacy and encryption are protected by the company’s process, meaning that only you can view the contents of your messages. Apple cannot verify its assertions that it puts users and the people they speak with at danger.

But clearly, there’s a far bigger picture at work here as well. Apple has repeatedly declared that it does not plan to introduce iMessage to Android: CEO Tim Cook said, “Buy your mom an iPhone,” in response to a questioner at the Code Conference who wanted a better method to communicate with their mother, who uses an Android phone.

Officials from the corporation had previously talked about Android versions but came to the conclusion that it would eat into iPhone sales. Although the specifics of Apple’s cross-platform RCS messaging protocol implementation are yet unknown, you can be sure that the company will keep working to enhance the native iMessage user experience. According to Apple, it will.

It’s interesting how timely Apple made this comment. That being said, security-wise, Beeper’s previous attempts to intercept iMessage were really far more problematic because it has only been in existence for a few years. Because Beeper and apps like Sunbird (which just partnered with Nothing on another way to bring iMessage to Android) were only routing your iMessage traffic through a Mac Mini housed in a server rack, your discussions were noticeably more public. But because Beeper Mini was directly abusing the iMessage protocol, Apple tightened up its security procedures.

Since Apple unplugged Beeper Mini, Beeper has been working tirelessly to get it operational again. The company reported that on Saturday, Beeper Mini remained unusable, but iMessage was operational within the Beeper Cloud app. He said he didn’t understand Apple’s decision to remove his app.

Migicovsky now asserts that his stance hasn’t changed in light of Apple’s statement. He says he would be happy to submit Beeper’s code for a security evaluation so Apple may be confident in its security protocols. Then he stops himself. But I have issue with the notion as a whole! Since unencrypted texts are the sole means of communication available to users of iPhones and Android devices, let’s start there.

Beeper contends that since SMS is inherently unsafe, anything else would be preferable. Migicovsky pauses to examine my hypothesis that Beeper, a firm they are unaware of, is receiving apparently exclusive blue-bubble messages from iPhone users, a possibility that Apple may be concerned about. “That’s fair,” he replies, offering a potential solution: maybe each message sent using Beeper should start with a pager emoji to inform recipients of what’s going on. If it resolves the problem, he says, it might be completed in a few hours.

When I ask Migicovsky whether he’s prepared to take on Apple’s security team moving ahead, he says that Beeper Cloud’s continuous operation shows that Apple can’t or won’t keep it out of the system permanently. (He adds that there are still some ideas the Beeper team has for the Beeper Mini.) Beyond that, he thinks the court of public opinion will finally convince Apple to collaborate.  “Almost everyone can agree that it should exist.”

At the very least, it seems likely that Apple will overlook this point. The company is unlikely to give up control over iMessage at this point because it has been closely observing and protecting it for years. Furthermore, even if Beeper is able to restart Beeper Mini, it will constantly be caught in a never-ending game of cat and mouse as it tries to circumvent Apple’s security protocols. Regardless of your desire to send iMessages from an Android phone, Apple has made it clear that it wants to dominate that market.