The confrontation between Apple and Beeper has entered a new round. Days after Apple managed to block Beeper Mini from seamlessly sending and receiving iMessages on Android, Beeper says the app is back up and running – sort of.
See, Beeper Mini works a little differently this time: you must now log in with an Apple ID, while previously you were automatically registered with iMessage via your phone number. Beeper says it’s working on a solution to fix phone number registration with iMessage, but until then your friends won’t be able to send iMessages directly to your phone number. Instead, the blue bubbles will have to come from and to your email address. That’s not nearly as convenient, but in the end it’s still iMessage.
For now, due to what could escalate into a cat-and-mouse game with Apple, Beeper Mini will be free to use. “It’s been a bit chaotic, and we don’t feel comfortable subjecting paying users to this,” the company wrote today in a blog post about the update. Apple’s statement on Friday made it clear that it will not hesitate to halt further attempts to trick its servers into believing that Android phones are genuine Apple devices.
Beeper also responds to Apple’s initial statement that its app, which is based on reverse engineering of the iMessage protocol, poses potential risks to user privacy and security. “We strongly object to the accusation,” the company wrote, and it is willing to share Beeper Mini’s entire code base “with a mutually agreed upon third-party security research firm” to analyze the app for any issues.
Of course, that’s not really Apple’s problem: iMessage is a service that Apple operates, and it’s a key lock mechanism and value-add for iPhones and the company’s other hardware. Beeper’s security isn’t Apple’s concern, but iMessage’s is. That said, Apple’s attempt to block Beeper Mini has already caught the attention of US politicians and renewed calls for the company to release an official, authorized iMessage app for Android.
