And for that,Apple punished themand quite swiftly, I might add.
The company blocked the app from accessing its original workaround to Apple’s security systems on Friday.
In response, Beeper deregistered users' phone numbers from the service, and worked on a fix.
Perhaps some of this will remain relevant if Beeper Mini can somehow make it through these challenges.
However, their situation is currently, let’s say, tenuous.
The main issue had to do with how these messages were relayed from Android to iPhone.
Same process, same security concerns.
Hackers could literally read your messages alongside code should they gain access to the servers.
So much for end-to-end encryption.
With all this drama afoot, the promise of sending iMessages from Android devices seemed misleading.
I still have my doubts, but I have to say: this looks promising.
This is quite the feat.
It works because Apple “thinks” your Android is an iPhone.
When you hit “Send,” Beeper Mini encrypts your message.
It won’t be decrypted until it reaches it proper recipient, just as true iMessage does between iPhones.
Beeper is proud of this achievement, and invites scrutiny from security researchers.
you’re free to see this in action inSnazzy Lab’s walkthrough of the service.
Once you’re up and running, you’ll find that many iMessage features work as they should.
They’ll just be happy to not “wreck the group chat.”
Are there security concerns?
I have to hand it to Beeper: This is promising.
That’s a huge upgrade.
There are some quirks to the service that are worth keeping an eye on, however.
That means all BPNs can do is see if you have new messages to decrypt.
It cannot read them.
If it detects new messages, it disconnects from APN and alerts the Beeper Mini app.
Another quirk comes if you want to send and receive messages on an Apple gadget like iPad or Mac.
I’m not sure I’d recommend it, though.
In general, I’m still a bit wary of connecting a service like iMessage through a third-party.
Not that Apple is perfect by any means, but they do run a tight ship.
As you mess with the boundaries of that situation, you risk running into security trouble.
However, from the outset, Beeper’s new app is alotmore secure than before.
Beeper made its tech open source, so security researchers can tear it apart looking for vulnerabilities.
As for me, I may wait for their initial findings before jumping into this service myself.
But I’m impressed.
This is, for lack of a better word, really cool.
Plus, there’s the argument that Beeper Mini makes itmoresecure to text between iPhone and Android.
SMS is a wildly insecure messaging protocol, and Beeper Mini offers you end-to-end encryption.
They have a lot going for them right now.
Will Beeper Mini make it?
Beeper Mini also faces some potential challenges: Apple willnotlike it, as it relies on reverse-engineered iMessage code.
(Props to you, jjtech.)
Whether they will do anything about it remains to be seen.
The green bubble stigma is bad enough in the US today where that answer may be yes.
But, as it stands, Apple doesn’t support RCS yet.
Beeper Mini costs $1.99 per month, following a 7-day free trial.
you could download it from thePlay Storetoday.
