Beeper Mini debuted on Androidlast week, allowing green bubble users to jump on the blue bubble bandwagon without switching to an iPhone. But three days later, Beeper Mini reported a massive outage, casting doubts on its future. It turns out that this was caused by Apple taking steps to prevent unauthorized access to iMessage. And while Beeper got Beeper Cloud — the bridge that powers the iMessage and Android integration — back up online, it might not survive for long as Apple is taking steps to protect its users.
The company confirmed toThe Vergethat it took steps to block an unauthorized fake credentials technique being used to gain access to iMessage. Beeper might be able to work around Apple’s security measures again, but the company clarifies that it will continue “to make updates in the future to protect” its users.
Below is Apple’s statement in full:
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. We took steps to protect our users by blocking techniques that exploit fake credentials 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.
This explains why Beeper has been struggling to get its service back up after the outage on Friday. WhileBeeper Cloud is back up onlineafter a “herculean” effort from the company’s engineers, the iMessage integration in the Beeper app is still not working again.
Given that Apple is now actively shutting down the exploit Beeper was using for its iMessage integration, it’s entirely possible the app might not function properly again. Or even if it does, it won’t last for long, as this has now effectively become a cat-and-mouse game between Beeper and Apple.
Beeper’s founder, Eric Migicovsky, is optimistic, though. He toldThe Vergethat Beeper Cloud working is a sign that Apple cannot keep them out forever. Plus, the team behind Beeper Mini has some more ideas in their pocket.
Beeper Mini launched with much fanfare and media spotlight, which was bound to get Apple’s attention. Now that it has happened, the question hangs in the air: can Beeper continue outmaneuvering Apple? At least untilApple rolls out RCS support for iMessage?
