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Beeper Mini: You can now send iMessages with the Android app
by Florian Bodoky
Beeper Mini: Apple could bring the app to an early end
11.12.2023
Translation: machine translated
Since last week, there has been an Android app called "Beeper Mini" that allows you to send iMessages to Apple devices. But just a few days after the launch, Apple put a stop to the function. A game of cat and mouse could now begin, as the statements from both companies suggest.
Last week, Eric Migicovsky, CEO of the company "Beeper", released the messenger "Beeper Mini" with a spectacular function: although it is an Android app, you can use it to send iMessages to Apple devices. You can choose whether you want to send them from your mobile number or whether you want to log in with your Apple ID. Even the "chat bubbles" were blue; from Android devices, the messages are otherwise highlighted in green.
Technical problems after a short time
The news spread like wildfire on Reddit and other portals and downloads also increased rapidly. This was despite the fact that the app costs 1.99 US dollars after a seven-day trial period.
The joy was short-lived, however. Technical problems occurred on Friday. Complaints piled up on the Beeper subreddit. The "blue bubbles" no longer appear, messages no longer arrive in the familiar form. A clear sign that Apple is starting to plug the gaps that make the operation of Beeper Mini possible in the first place.
On Saturday, Beeper then announced that the function was back in operation. However, only in the "Beeper Cloud App", not in Beeper Mini.
Verbal exchange of blows and possible cat and mouse game
Apple made an official statement shortly afterwards. The company had "taken steps to protect its users". Accordingly, "techniques that gain access to iMessage using fake credentials" have been blocked. Apple is probably referring to the ability to log in to Beeper Mini with your Apple ID login. If you are logged in in this way, you can send iMessages via Apple servers even though you are not logged in to an Apple device.
Eric Migicovsky, CEO of Beeper, doubts the motives for Apple's actions. Beeper has repeatedly emphasised that end-to-end encryption is also maintained with the Beeper Mini app. His company is also prepared to show Apple the code and rectify any shortcomings. He doubts that the security aspect is Apple's main reason for torpedoing the Beeper Mini app. Without it, both parties would have to rely on insecure text messages to communicate with each other. He would also be prepared, for example, to incorporate a small pager emoji into the Beeper Mini messages - so that the origin of an iMessage is always clear.
Apple does not appear to be interested in working with Beeper, however. This is not surprising when you consider that Apple has been unwilling to share its iMessage technology with other manufacturers in the past. "Buy your mum an iPhone" was Tim Cook's succinct answer to the question of when Apple would be ready to introduce a standardised chat protocol. After all: the RCS standard for iPhones will be introduced in 2024. However, it is still possible that we will be facing a game of cat and mouse between Beeper and Apple until then.
Cover image: Shutterstock
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
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