Sunday, July 27, 2025
LBNN
  • Business
  • Markets
  • Politics
  • Crypto
  • Finance
  • Energy
  • Technology
  • Taxes
  • Creator Economy
  • Wealth Management
  • Documentaries
No Result
View All Result
LBNN

Beeper’s iMessage Fight With Apple Has Blown Up Into a Debate Over Regulating Big Tech

Simon Osuji by Simon Osuji
December 19, 2023
in Artificial Intelligence
0
Beeper’s iMessage Fight With Apple Has Blown Up Into a Debate Over Regulating Big Tech
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Beeper, a YCombinator-backed startup, initially came up with an expensive and inherently insecure method to make a beta version of its app work. This method sent every message through a relay server before arriving at the recipient’s messaging client. Then, late this summer, the company landed on a breakthrough technique, originally drafted as a proof of concept by a 16-year-old high school student in Pennsylvania. The young coder reverse-engineered the way notifications work on iPhone, found a loophole in the way credentials are registered with Apple’s servers during the notifications process, and applied that to messaging.

Beeper bifurcated its product: It kept its original relay system in place (called Beeper Cloud) and separately launched a version of its app (called Beeper Mini) that would use this new technological framework for turning Android messages into blue bubble Messages.

According to Beeper, its solution made Beeper Mini a more secure option than if an Android user were to use their phone’s default messaging app to text an iPhone user, because Beeper Mini maintained end-to-end encryption. Beeper users also didn’t have to share an Apple ID or Apple password with the Beeper Mini app in order to gain access to it. At launch earlier this month, the company charged $2 per month for Beeper Mini. It was downloaded by more than 100,000 people in its first 48 hours.

But in the days after launch, Beeper Mini suffered an app outage. At that time, Migicovsky told WIRED he believed that Apple may have cut off the technical ability for Beeper Mini to function, noting that the app outage didn’t seem to be caused by any sort of broader network issue.

Apple didn’t respond to WIRED’s requests for comment on the outage, but the company later issued a statement to The Verge acknowledging that it had taken action against Beeper. “We took steps to protect our users by blocking techniques that exploit fake credentials in order to gain access to iMessage,” an Apple spokeswoman told the outlet. “These techniques posed significant risks to user security and privacy, including the potential for metadata exposure and enabling unwanted messages, spam, and phishing attacks.”

While Beeper scrambled to get the app working again, US lawmakers took notice of what was happening. On December 10, Senator Warren tweeted on X, “Green bubble texts are less secure. So why would Apple block a new app allowing Android users to chat with iPhone users on iMessage? Big Tech executives are protecting profits by squashing competitors. Chatting between different platforms should be easy and secure.” The tweet was viewed more than 3 million times, according to X’s visible metrics system.





Source link

Related posts

Gear News of the Week: Amazon Buys Bee, VSCO Has a New App, and CMF Debuts a Smartwatch

Gear News of the Week: Amazon Buys Bee, VSCO Has a New App, and CMF Debuts a Smartwatch

July 26, 2025
60 Italian Mayors Want to Be the Unlikely Solution to Self-Driving Cars in Europe

60 Italian Mayors Want to Be the Unlikely Solution to Self-Driving Cars in Europe

July 26, 2025
Previous Post

Secondaries investors say some valuations are still too high

Next Post

Human Brain-Scale Supercomputer Goes Online In 2024

Next Post
Human Brain-Scale Supercomputer Goes Online In 2024

Human Brain-Scale Supercomputer Goes Online In 2024

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECOMMENDED NEWS

ChatGPT got another viral moment with ‘AI action figure’ trend

ChatGPT got another viral moment with ‘AI action figure’ trend

3 months ago
Implementation Of Finance Act 2023 Suspended

Implementation Of Finance Act 2023 Suspended

2 years ago
Booz Allen Hamilton Secures $1.2B Award Ceiling for CISA Cyber Ops Services

Booz Allen Hamilton Secures $1.2B Award Ceiling for CISA Cyber Ops Services

11 months ago
Kawasaki leads FEED plans for Oz liquid hydrogen plant

Kawasaki leads FEED plans for Oz liquid hydrogen plant

2 years ago

POPULAR NEWS

  • Ghana to build three oil refineries, five petrochemical plants in energy sector overhaul

    Ghana to build three oil refineries, five petrochemical plants in energy sector overhaul

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The world’s top 10 most valuable car brands in 2025

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • When Will SHIB Reach $1? Here’s What ChatGPT Says

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Top 10 African countries with the highest GDP per capita in 2025

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Global ranking of Top 5 smartphone brands in Q3, 2024

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 LBNN - All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Markets
  • Crypto
  • Economics
    • Manufacturing
    • Real Estate
    • Infrastructure
  • Finance
  • Energy
  • Creator Economy
  • Wealth Management
  • Taxes
  • Telecoms
  • Military & Defense
  • Careers
  • Technology
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Investigative journalism
  • Art & Culture
  • Documentaries
  • Quizzes
    • Enneagram quiz
  • Newsletters
    • LBNN Newsletter
    • Divergent Capitalist

© 2023 LBNN - All rights reserved.