It really was too good to be true—an unofficial Android app that allowed messaging with Apple iMessage users, using Apple’s own protocols.
While the effort from the Android Beeper Mini app should be applauded, as it utilized Apple’s own push notification protocol to work, Apple has put a stop to the app altogether. Confirmation comes days after Beeper Mini users said the app had stopped working.
Now, Apple senior PR manager Nadine Haija has confirmed to The Verge the company did indeed take action to shut down Beeper Mini’s workaround.
“At Apple, we build our products and services with industry-leading privacy and security technologies designed to give users control of their data and keep personal information safe,” said the statement.
“We took steps to protect our users by blocking techniques that exploit fake credentials in order to gain access to iMessage. These techniques posed significant risks to user security and privacy, including the potential for metadata exposure and enabling unwanted messages, spam, and phishing attacks. We will continue to make updates in the future to protect our users,” said Apple.
It’s not surprise Apple would shut down Beeper, as the iPhone is set to support RCS officially soon.
Beeper Mini was founded by Canadian Eric Migicovosky, who previously founded the Pebble smart watch that debuted before Apple Watch was a thing. Pebble eventually sold to Fitbit, and the latter was eventually acquired by Google.
Pebble reportedly had the opportunity for an earlier buyout, according to reports back in the day. In 2015, Citizen reportedly proposed a whopping $740 million acquisition, and Intel offered $70 million before the release of Pebble 2. However, Canadian CEO Eric Migicovsky declined both offers. Sources close to Pebble suggest that the deal with Fitbit is “barely covering their debts.” Ouch.
Apple launched the Apple Watch in April 2015, essentially killing the Pebble as the former finally brought native iPhone integration with a smart watch. Now, we’re seeing another project from Migicovosky getting kiboshed by Apple.
