Apple blocks access to Beeper Mini after launching the service that brings iMessage to Android

Was it too good to be true? the pipeAccording to the company, the startup that reverse-engineered the iMessage app to send blue bubble texts to Android users is experiencing outages. This was reported in a post on X on Friday. Apple seems to be responsible for this. Users including us at TechCrunch with access to the app started seeing error messages and messages not sent when trying to send text messages through the newly released Beeper Mini.

The error message reads: “Search on server failed: Search request timed out” in red font.

In response to a question about Dr Reddit When asked if the app was down, a Beeper team member previously replied: “Report a problem with the app and give us a chance to investigate.”

But CEO Bieber Eric Migikoski A reply to TechCrunch’s inquiry about the Beeper Mini’s status was forwarded to it Confirming the post x barrier, and provide additional details. When asked if Apple had found a way to disrupt the Beeper Mini’s functionality, he replied: “Yes, all the data points to it.”

We don’t know what this means for the future of the Beeper Mini unless Beeper engineers can somehow fix the problem.

Migikoski, who previously founded the Pebble smartwatch, argued that Beeper Mini was not only useful for Android users who finally wanted to join their friends’ group chats on iMessage, but that it also increased security for iPhone users.

In an interview before the Beeper Mini was launched, the founder explained that texts in the green bubble were not encrypted.

“This means that every time you send a text message to your friends on Android, everyone can read the message. Apple can read messages. Your mobile provider can read the message. Google…literally it’s like a postcard. “So Beeper Mini really enhances the security of the iPhone,” he told TechCrunch.

On the other hand, Apple considers iMessage to be the most important tool for connecting users to its ecosystem, which is why it won’t launch an iMessage app for Android. While there were hopes that EU regulations would make iMessage more interoperable, news this week suggested that iMessage would be exempt from these rules because the service is not popular enough with business users. This means that Apple has no reason not to try to shut down the Beeper Mini if ​​it can.

Migikoski is not happy with this turn of events.

“I’d be very interested to know why they think it makes sense to make security worse for iPhone users,” he said.

“If it’s Apple, I think the big question is: If Apple really cares about the privacy and security of its iPhone users, why would they try to kill a service that allows iPhones to send encrypted conversations to Android-users? With their announcement of support for RCS, it’s clear that Apple has a big gap here. Beeper Mini is here today and it works great. Why are they forcing iPhone users to send encrypted SMS again when chatting with friends on Android?

Founded in 2020, the Beeper team originally worked on a cross-platform messaging aggregator, which was renamed Beeper Cloud with the launch of Beeper Mini this week. The latter uses new Technology It allows Android users to send messages to iMessage users as if they were messaging from iPhone for just $1.99 per month. This means that group chats have blue bubbles, not green bubbles. Because the startup no longer uses an intermediary — such as a Mac server that delivers messages, as other iMessage apps for Android do — it will essentially appear to Apple’s servers as if Beeper Mini messages are coming from a device running iMessage locally. So it’s not clear how Apple was able to block Beeper Mini access.

What this means for the future of the Beeper Mini is uncertain.

“We will explore options,” Migicowski said.

Maybe update?

Stay close to your phone https://t.co/WjwNRvkzW5

— Eric Migikoski (@ericmigi) December 9, 2023