Just weeks after Nothing Chats and Sunbird attempted to bring iMessage to Android before burning out over privacy concerns, Beeper Mini is claiming to do the same thing using a method that “reverse engineers” Apple’s messaging service.
Beeper Mini is a successor to the original Beeper app — which is now named Beeper Cloud — and according to the company’s Tuesday blog post it communicates directly with Apple’s iMessage network without requiring a constantly connected Mac Mini or other Apple hardware like Sunbird or Beeper’s original app. By doing this, Beeper Mini does not require an Apple ID during setup, although providing one will then allow for using iMessage across Beeper Mini and Apple hardware like a Mac or iPad.Â
Otherwise Beeper claims to support many of iMessage’s core features using its method, including end-to-end encryption, typing indicators, threaded replies and group chat support. Beeper however is developed independently of Apple, and is unlikely to consistently have all of the same features that Apple makes available to iMessage users on the iPhone or other Apple devices.
Beeper’s original app, which had a waitlist for access, remains available for now with access to iMessage using a Mac relay while interconnecting to other chat services like WhatsApp. Beeper Mini is available now on the Play Store without a waitlist, but the company is instead charging a $2 a month subscription after a 7-day trial period.Â
Beeper plans to eventually have the new Mini app fully replace the original, with the intention of including access to other chat apps while building Beeper Mini for desktop computers and iOS. Beeper cofounder Eric Migicovsky told CNET that prior Beeper users can either continue to use the original app or switch to Beeper Mini.
While Beeper Mini sounds on paper like it alleviates some of the major pitfalls of prior iMessage on Android services like the need…
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