Apple has blocked an app called Beeper Mini that enabled Android smartphone users to send blue bubble iMessage texts to iPhone users, claiming the app “exploited fake credentials” and posed privacy and security risks.
The move by the tech giant has attracted criticism, with Senator Elizabeth Warren accusing Apple of “squashing competitors” to protect profits.
What Was Beeper Mini?
Launched just last week by startup Beeper, Beeper Mini was an Android app that charged users $1.99 per month to get around the infamous green bubbles that show up when an Android device texts an iPhone.
The app effectively gave Android users access to Apple’s closed iMessage network, allowing them to send texts with blue bubbles and access iMessage features like emojis, voice messages, and encryption.
How Did The App Work?
According to Beeper co-founder Eric Migicovsky, the app’s prototype was actually created by a 16-year-old high school student that the company later hired part-time.
The app worked by essentially reverse engineering the iMessage protocol to trick iPhones into thinking messages were coming from other iOS devices.
Migicovsky claimed this would improve the messaging experience between platforms and make conversations more secure since Android users could tap into iMessage’s encryption.
Why Did Apple Block The App?
Last Friday, Apple blocked Beeper Mini from being able to access the iMessage network, citing significant security and privacy risks, including:
- Exposure of metadata
- Enabling unwanted messages, spam and phishing scams
An Apple spokesperson told The Verge that the techniques used by the app “exploited fake credentials” to gain access to iMessage.
Backlash Over Competitive Practices
Apple has faced growing pressure to open up iMessage to non-iOS devices and improve the generally poor texting experience between iPhones and Android phones.
The company has announced plans to adopt RCS messaging next year to allow Android users access to certain iMessage features.
However, the Beeper Mini blockage demonstrates Apple’s continued protectiveness over iMessage in the face of critics arguing for more open competitive practices.
Senator Warren admonished the tech giant’s anti-competitive behavior in a tweet, stating: “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.”
Neither Apple nor Beeper immediately responded to requests for comment.
The History of Green Bubbles
Since the launch of iMessage in 2011 alongside iOS 5, Apple device owners have enjoyed seamless messaging between iPhones, iPads and Macs.
Texts between Apple users are denoted by blue message bubbles, while texts from non-Apple devices show up in green bubbles.
Over time, green bubbles have become stigmatized as a marker of Android ownership amongst iPhone loyalists. The bubbles also represent various limitations in the messaging experience.
Why Do People Dislike Green Bubbles?
There are several reasons why green text bubbles are considered inferior by many iOS users:
Lack of iMessage Features
Texts between iPhones support a range of features that don’t work when messaging Android users or that show up differently. This includes:
- Reactions with emoji
- Visual effects (balloons, confetti)
- Tapbacks
- Typing indicators and read receipts
- Higher quality photo/video transfer
- Encrypted messaging
- Better group messaging
Group Chats Get Complicated
In group chats involving both iPhone and Android users, the limitations of SMS/MMS messaging cause complications:
- Frequent messages getting split into multiple text bubbles
- Out-of-order delivery of texts
- Loss of multimedia messages
Stigma of Android Ownership
Among hardcore fans of Apple’s ecosystem, green bubbles have taken on a stigma as a sign someone owns an Android device rather than an iPhone.
While this attitude has been criticized for being elitist, there is a sense that green bubble users are disconnected from the full Apple messaging experience.
What Options Exist For Android Users?
Aside from apps that have attempted to crack into iMessage like Beeper Mini, Android messaging options include:
RCS Messaging
RCS (Rich Communication Services) is a communication protocol that upgrades SMS/MMS messaging with features like better group chats, read receipts, etc.
Google has integrated RCS into its Android messages app. While not as fully-featured as iMessage, it helps narrow the gap between iOS and Android messaging.
Third-Party Apps
Apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger allow cross-platform messaging between iPhone and Android users. However, this requires getting all parties to download and use the same app rather than relying on the default texting apps.
Apple’s Concessions – Will We See Future Openness?
While Apple has zealously protected iMessage as an iOS exclusive feature to date, going so far as to push back against legislation that proposed requiring tech companies to provide interoperability between messaging services, the company has made some slight concessions amid rising criticism.
Adopting RCS
After resisting supporting RCS for years, Apple recently announced plans to enable RCS messaging between iPhones and Android phones sometime in 2023. This will help address certain green bubble limitations.
Sideloading Apps in the EU
New EU legislation set to take effect in 2024 will require Apple to allow sideloading of apps on iPhones and iPads. This could enable Android communication apps to integrate more messaging functionality without App Store approval.
Increasing Pressure for Interoperability
Governments, developers and consumers have aplicreasingly called for enforced interoperability between chat platforms.
The EU’s Digital Markets Act will mandate messaging, social media and other tech providers to open up APIs for competing services. While Apple lobbied heavily against this, it demonstrates a trend toward forcing big tech to end walled gardens.
Whether Apple voluntarily opens iOS further or slowly concedes ground due to regulation, the days of iMessage exclusivity appear numbered in some form.
For Android users tired of messaging limitations, increased competition and interconnectivity between chat apps could finally purge the dreaded green bubble stigma.
The Bottom Line
Apple’s blocking of an app that enabled cross-platform iMessage functionality shows the company’s reluctance to openly compete.
However, with growing criticism of Apple’s walled garden approach from legislators and consumers alike, change seems inevitable even if it develops incrementally.
While iMessage may never function exactly the same between operating systems, users can expect a steady erosion of limitations that have made Android messages the bane of iPhone loyalists.
