Learn more about Apple’s decision to close down the iMessage app for Android devices.
Apple has decided to disable the iMessage application compatible with Android phones. iMessage is popular among iPhone users for its blue bubbles, but the company has maintained exclusive rights to its ecosystem, citing user privacy. The Beeper Mini app was released earlier this month and promised to be the best version of iMessage for Android users.
The company claimed it was able to hijack Apple’s native iMessage service to send messages to Android, tricking Apple into thinking the message was coming from an iOS device. Many people suspected that Apple would eventually take action on this service, and it has taken less than 24 hours for Beeper Mini to be shut down on Android. Apple has reportedly blocked the link that allowed the Beeper Mini to route the message signal to Android for iMessages.
The Verge quoted the company in a report explaining the reasons for this decision. “We took steps to protect our users by blocking technologies that leverage fake credentials to access iMessage. These technologies posed significant risks to users’ security and privacy, including the potential for metadata exposure and enabling spam, spam, and phishing attacks. We will continue to make future updates to protect our users.”
Apple’s statement clearly shows that the company is concerned about how a third-party service has used a loophole to integrate iMessage with Android. It also mentions that if any other service decides to act in this disruptive manner, it will block their access to their products as well.
Beeper Mini got everyone excited about using iMessage on Android, and most importantly, by allowing them to do it in a secure and encrypted way.
However, these new developments suggest that Apple isn’t going to sit back and let companies abuse its servers to integrate their products across platforms. The makers of Beeper Mini have set up a subscription service, which means that iMessage for Android is not free and blocking Apple’s network seems justified.