In a surprising turn of events, Beeper Mini, the app that brought blue bubble iMessage texts to Android users, has made a triumphant comeback. After a long weekend of uncertainty, the startup behind the app announced on Monday that Beeper Mini has resumed its services. While the details of how they managed to get it back up and running remain undisclosed, it is clear that Beeper Mini is determined to continue defying the odds.
Key Takeaway
Beeper Mini, the app that brings iMessage to Android, has made a comeback after Apple attempted to shut it down. Despite the setback, Beeper Mini remains committed to providing secure and encrypted messaging services for Android users.
The Rise and Fall
Founded by Eric Migicovsky, the former Pebble smartwatch founder, Beeper originally aimed to create an app that would aggregate all of a user’s chat apps into a single interface. However, when the team discovered a way to reverse engineer the iMessage protocol, they shifted their focus and created Beeper Mini. This new app focused solely on bringing iMessage chats to Android users for a monthly fee of $1.99. It boasted features like support for high-quality photos and videos, tapback reactions, typing indicators, and read receipts.
The launch of Beeper Mini was met with great success, quickly climbing the ranks in the Play Store and amassing over 100,000 downloads within the first 48 hours. However, Apple was quick to take action, putting an end to Beeper Mini’s messaging services. Apple claimed that Beeper Mini posed significant risks to user security and privacy, citing concerns about metadata exposure and potential spam and phishing attacks. The Cupertino tech giant argued that it could not verify the app’s claims of end-to-end encryption and therefore had to protect users by blocking access to iMessage.
A Beacon of Hope
Amidst the chaos, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Apple for its intervention, highlighting the need for easy and secure communication between different platforms. The Beeper team, determined to address the issue, worked tirelessly to fix the problem. On Monday, they released an update on their blog, stating that Beeper Mini now included fixes for the previous messaging issues. Although the specifics of the fix remain undisclosed, Beeper Mini maintains its commitment to security and encryption.
However, there is a catch. The phone number registration feature is currently not functioning, requiring users to sign in with an Apple ID instead. Nevertheless, Beeper Mini is temporarily free as the team continues to stabilize the service. Once things have settled, the team plans to reintroduce subscriptions.
Beeper has also challenged Apple to have the app’s security and privacy audited by an independent third-party security firm. The company is confident in the app’s integrity and is willing to prove it. Additionally, Beeper has proposed adding a pager emoji to metadata on all sent messages, allowing the Messages app to filter out messages from Beeper Mini users.
Although the updated version of Beeper Mini is not yet available on the Play Store, users can download it from beeper.com/update for the time being. The update requires sideloading, which comes with some risks, but Beeper assures its users that the app has undergone rigorous testing. The update brings new features like improved chat functionality and an enhanced video player.
As of now, Apple has not directly communicated with Beeper, and it remains uncertain whether Apple will be able to disable Beeper’s updated build. However, Beeper Mini’s return is a testament to the team’s resilience and determination to provide iMessage functionality to Android users.
