iMessage app for Android shut down by Apple in the name of privacy

Apple shut down the Beeper Mini iMessage app for Android

Apple has announced that it has blocked Beeper Mini from accessing the iMessage platform. The company said it did so to protect the privacy and security of its users' iMessage data. The company alleged that Beeper Mini uses fake credentials to register itself as an iMessage client to gain access to the iMessage platform. This makes it clear that Apple won't allow third-party apps to access iMessage and will keep blocking other attempts using exploits or workarounds to bring iMessage to non-Apple platforms.

In a statement given to TheVerge, Apple said, “At Apple, we build our products and services with industry-leading privacy and security technologies designed to give users control of their data and keep personal information safe. We took steps to protect our users by blocking techniques that exploit fake credentials in order to gain access to iMessage. These techniques posed significant risks to user security and privacy, including the potential for metadata exposure and enabling unwanted messages, spam, and phishing attacks. We will continue to make updates in the future to protect our users.”

Beeper still says that its mechanism works without breaking the encryption and that all users' data is protected. However, Apple claims that it can't verify those claims and that these workarounds threaten Apple's users' security and privacy.

iPhones to support RCS in 2024

Over the past few years, Apple has been under constant pressure to bring iMessage to other platforms, including Android, or make iPhones compatible with newer messaging standards like RCS (Rich Communication Services). A few days ago, Apple announced that iPhones will support RCS (Universal Profile) in 2024. It will support modern messaging features like typing indicators, reading/sending receipts, high-resolution photo and video sharing, stickers, reactions, individual message replies, voice messages, and location sharing when communicating with Android smartphones.

RCS will bring iMessage-like features when iPhone users interact with Android users since all Android phones already support RCS. However, Apple will not use Google Messages as its base. It will use the RCS Universal Profile and will likely help improve it by developing more features.