(Credit: Beeper/Google Play)
Beeper Mini—which brings iMessage to Android—is back, a few days after Apple shut it down.
For now, it doesn't truly let iPhone users talk with those on Android smartphones, though. Once people download Beeper Mini from Google Play, they have to log in with an Apple ID. At that point, "messages will be sent and received via your email address rather than phone number," according to Beeper, which says it's "currently working on a fix for this."
The app is also now free to use after launching with a $2-per-month subscription. "Things have been a bit chaotic, and we’re not comfortable subjecting paying users to this," it says. "As soon as things stabilize (we hope they will), we’ll look at turning on subscriptions again. If you want to keep supporting us, feel free to leave the subscription on."
This comes after Apple has been quashing attempts to connect non-iPhone users to iMessage via what it considers to be insecure methods. On Friday, Apple shut down Beeper Mini, vowing "to make updates in the future to protect our users.”
Beeper says it has not heard from Apple. It criticized the company for "1984-esque doublespeak" and said "the changes Apple made on Friday were designed to protect the lock-in effect of iMessage. The end result is that iPhone customers have less security and privacy than before."
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The battle drew the attention of Sen. Elizabeth Warren. In a post on X, the Massachusetts Democrat chastised Apple for "squashing competitors" for the sake of "protecting profits" and said chatting between platforms should be "easy and secure."
Beeper contends that its solution does just that. "Mini connects directly to Apple servers. There is no Mac server relay, like other apps," it says, a reference to a solution from phone maker Nothing and messaging provider Sunbird, which was forced to shut down amid security concerns.
As Beeper explains, "the iMessage protocol and encryption have been reverse engineered by jjtech, a security researcher. Leveraging this research, Beeper Mini implements the iMessage protocol locally within the app. All messages are sent and received by Beeper Mini Android app directly to Apple’s servers. The encryption keys needed to encrypt these messages never leave your phone. Neither Beeper, Apple, nor anyone except the intended recipients can read your messages or attachments. Beeper does not have access to your Apple credentials."
It's a safe bet that Apple has thoughts on that, so experiment with Beeper Mini while you can.