Apple Blocks Beeper Mini's iMessage Service Citing Security Concerns; Beeper Tries to Get App Running Again

Nothing Chats was also recently pulled after a short beta run, with the company saying it is working on bug fixes.

Written by Sucharita Ganguly, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 11 December 2023 10:09 IST

Apple Blocks Beeper Mini's iMessage Service Citing Security Concerns; Beeper Tries to Get App Running Again

Photo Credit: Beeper

Beeper Mini was introduced last week

Highlights

Beeper Mini connects directly to Apple server
Messages sent by users appear in blue bubbles
Beeper Mini launched at $1.99 (roughly Rs. 160) per month

Beeper Mini was recently released as an Android app that allowed users to access Apple's iMessage service for a small monthly fee. The attempt was something similar to what UK-based Nothing had introduced recently. But soon after its launch, the app, from former Pebble Co-Founder Eric Migicovsky, faced an outage. Apple confirmed that it blocked the service citing privacy and security concerns. Beeper, however, claims that the service is safe and is working towards getting the app up and running again.

Users were met with “failed to lookup on server: lookup request timed out” messages on their screens as they tried to send messages on the Beeper Mini app. After reports of multiple issues, Beeper acknowledged an issue and announced that it is working to get the services back up again.

Soon, Apple confirmed in a statement to The Verge that the company had taken steps to block Beeper Mini's access to iMessage as it exploited "fake credentials." In the statement, Apple said that it took steps to protect its users as the techniques (used by Beeper) "posed significant risks to user security and privacy."

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However, Beeper Mini claims to offer end-to-end encryption on its messaging service. In a post on X, the company shared that the platform keeps all messages private and "boosts security" as opposed to unencrypted SMS. The firm also noted that they are willing to share their entire source code for security evaluation with mutually agreed upon third parties.

In the report, founder Eric Migicovsky asked that if Apple "cares about the privacy and security" of iPhone users, would they have any reason to block a "service that enables their own users to now send encrypted messages to Android users," instead of using unsecured SMS?”

Later, Beeper insisted it was working towards restoring its services and that they were hopeful about sharing "good news" with its users soon. Beeper Mini launched as a service to help Android users access and connect to iOS users via iMessage at a fee of $1.99 (roughly Rs. 160) per month.

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Further reading: Beeper Mini, Beeper, iMessage, Android, Apple, Eric Migicovsky

Sucharita Ganguly

Email Sucharita Ganguly

Sucharita is a writer with Gadgets 360 and is mostly found playing with her cat in her free time. She has previously worked at breaking news desks across organizations. Powered by coffee, The Beatles, Bowie, and her newfound love for BTS, she aims to work towards contributing to a better media environment for women and queer folk. More