this post was submitted on 11 Dec 2023
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Senator Warren calls out Apple for shutting down Beeper's 'iMessage to Android' solution::U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is throwing her weight behind Beeper, the app that allowed Android users to message iPhone users via iMessage,

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[–] ghastly_03_startup 59 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I wish Apple would just release an iMessage app for Android and be done with it.

[–] Wrench@lemmy.world 81 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Why would they do that? The point is exclusivity to foster peer pressure to all be on iPhone. Google offered to integrate with iMessage and vice versa, so that consumers would have the best experience regardless of platform, ages ago. Apple declined, and then removed some of Googles office suite apps from their store.

[–] DJKayDawg@lemmy.world 52 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Step 1) use peer pressure to get teens on platform

Step 2) vendor lock-in to keep them as lifetime customers

Step 3) profit

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[–] CurlyMoustache@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Not how capitalism works. Sadly

[–] Waluigis_Talking_Buttplug@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (7 children)

What's the point of asking questions when this community just downvotes? Why even have a forum if it's only use is to.upvote things that agree with your pre established opinions?

[–] LilPappyWigwam@lemm.ee 11 points 1 year ago (12 children)

Your primary contribution to this conversation is to bitch about how no one engages with you? I see users responding to you but then all you are responding back with is editing your comment to say "thanks for answering"? Idk man... maybe it's your approach to dialogue. Being super dismissive and retaliatory tends to bring downvotes.

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[–] db2@sopuli.xyz 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)

If it accessed the message system directly then it makes sense. They're was one just before it that ran on Mac mini farms.

[–] Arthur@literature.cafe 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Beeper Mini registered your phone number with Apple and connected directly to the iMessage servers. That version was killed after three days of usage. The mac mini farm still works but that's just through an apple ID email address.

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[–] doctorcrimson@lemmy.today 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Honestly it's hard to see how messages don't fall under the protection of net neutrality.

[–] gila@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Net neutrality effectively ending under Trump might clear it up

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[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 10 points 1 year ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Warren, an advocate for stricter antitrust enforcement, posted her support for Beeper on X (formerly Twitter) and questioned why Apple would restrict a competitor.

In explaining its decision to cut off Beeper’s access to its servers, Apple said that it took “steps to steps to protect our users by blocking techniques that exploit fake credentials in order to gain access to iMessage.” It also suggested that Beeper’s techniques “posed significant risks to user security and privacy, including the potential for metadata exposure and enabling unwanted messages, spam, and phishing attacks.”

In addition, Cupertino-based tech giant argued against Beeper’s security, saying it was not able to verify that messages sent through unauthorized means were able to maintain the end-to-end encryption iMessage offers.

Beeper, however, claims it was able to offer the same level of encryption as iMessage uses, but did not put its app through a third-party security audit prior to its launch, which would have strengthened its argument.

As of its most recent update on Sunday, the startup posted that work continues on the outage and it hopes to “have good news to share soon.”

Beeper Mini, then, became an app that focused solely on bringing iMessage to Android for $1.99/month, with the intention of expanding its capabilities over time.


The original article contains 474 words, the summary contains 210 words. Saved 56%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] onlinepersona@programming.dev 9 points 1 year ago

If this sparks an interoperability discussion (and actions) in the USA, it'll be ironic for Apple who might escape interoperability in the EU.

[–] thejml@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Did Beeper clear its usage of the iMessage platform with Apple? Sign a contract? Get an SLA agreement with Apple in writing?

I was under the impression that they found essentially a back door/work around to latch into the iMessage platform… in that case this is no different than Cisco patching some routers or MS fixing a security hole. If anything I’d be more annoyed that Apple didn’t patch it quicker.

I’d love to be able to use iMessage with my android friends, but Beeper’s methods seemed sketchy as hell.

[–] mosiacmango@lemm.ee 30 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

It was an exploit that mimicked the device as apple hardware, but it wasent sketchy. Everything was still e2ee, with beeper having no access to any data.

It was the exact opposite of what the Nothing "middleman" did that was actually sketchy.

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[–] ikidd@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

What's the choice? Apple isn't going to license it for all the tea in China.

[–] LilPappyWigwam@lemm.ee 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I've only heard this particular stance from iPhone users.

Apple has done a stellar job propagandizing their brand as the "Good guys... just looking out for their customer's best interests, is all".

No evidence for this take whatsoever; it's just naked, gullible brand loyalty.

Kind of an amazing phenomenon, if it weren't so sad.

[–] thejml@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I’ve got both. iOS for work, android for personal use. I’m in DevSecOps and therefore tend to see everything from this sort of mindset. Apple didn’t make a deal with them, they don’t have an open standard. It’s proprietary, it’s locked down. Why would any company with that sort of a product allow another company to interface with their offerings without paying for it? Even if it’s nice and secure, this will add load to the iMessage servers that people aren’t paying Apple for. It could introduce errors/issues they never tested for because they have a closed ecosystem and only have to test with their own devices, a known quantity. It could even increase potential attack vectors.

If you offered wifi to your friends via a guest network and then someone figured out how to connect their whole neighborhood to it, would you be fine with that?

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