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Beeper debuts Beeper Mini for Android, which lets users send iMessages using E2EE, without having to use a new number or log in with an Apple ID, for $2/month

Earlier this year, a developer slid into Eric Migicovsky's DMs with a spectacular claim: that he had reverse engineered Apple's iMessage …

The Verge Jacob Kastrenakes

Discussion

  • @mishaal_rahman Mishaal Rahman on threads
    I've been using Beeper Mini for the past few days.  It's the first true iMessage client for Android that doesn't relay messages from a Mac Mini server farm or require you to sign into your Apple account.  I have finally become a blue bubble! https://www.androidauthority.com/ ...
  • @mishaal_rahman Mishaal Rahman on threads
    If you're wondering why Beeper Mini costs $2/mo (after a 7-day free trial), they say it's to fund future development, so they can add the features shown in the below screenshot.  Eventually, Beeper Mini will be renamed to Beeper once support for the other messaging services are a…
  • @wongmjane Jane Manchun Wong on threads
    I wonder if Apple can break third-party iMessage implementations like Beeper by having their devices to digitally sign the messages using certificates in the Secure Element on the sending end, and then on the receiving end, only process the messages whose digital signature is val…
  • @captain2phones Michael Fisher on threads
    I've found Beeper Mini to be reliable and quick, if a bit bare-bones in design.  My only complaint thus far is the lack of quick-reply capability from the notification shade.  Beeper accomplished this feat by reverse engineering iMessage, and owner Eric Migicovsky told me that si…
  • @reckless1280 Nilay Patel on threads
    Someone like Beeper finally reverse-engineering iMessage in this was way inevitable and will cause Apple infinitely more pain and bad press in trying to shut it down than if it had just made things interoperable to begin with. https://www.theverge.com/...
  • @danseifert Dan Seifert on threads
    I was able to move my eSIM from my iPhone to my Android phone and not miss a thing with communications. incredible (also the eSIM transfer through T-Mobile worked perfectly, which is almost even more shocking and surprising)
  • @parkerortolani Parker Ortolani on threads
    Plus, the app is excellent.  It's pretty much ~exactly~ what iMessage would look like if Apple made their own Android client.
  • @parkerortolani Parker Ortolani on threads
    Beeper mini is insane.  The team reverse engineered iMessage and built an Android client that works ~perfectly~ even without an Apple ID.  Makes any previous effort to jerry rig iMessage on Android look like a joke. https://www.theverge.com/...
  • @parkerortolani Parker Ortolani on threads
    the craziest thing about Beeper mini to me isn't even that they reverse engineered iMessage, it's that it works without an Apple ID !
  • @nexusben Ben Schoon on threads
    Beeper Mini has launched today and it is *wild* The folks over at onbeeper somehow reverse-engineered iMessage and made it possible to use your Android phone's number on the service, even without using an Apple ID.  More on @9to5google https://9to5google.com/...
  • @adnan.social Adnan on bluesky
    The linked article tells you exactly why you shouldn't rely on it - it took a lot of effort from Beeper and Apple is not a partner in this venture.  [embedded post]
  • @ericmigi Eric Migicovsky on x
    Proud to share our new app: Beeper Mini - iMessage client for Android - Runs locally on your phone (no cloud server in the middle) - Fully end-to-end encrypted - New design Download it now! https://play.google.com/... [image]
  • @ericmigi Eric Migicovsky on x
    We worked hard to make this extremely secure. No Apple ID is required to use Beeper Mini. It registers only using your phone number. We wrote a detailed post about how it works: https://blog.beeper.com/...
  • @parkerortolani Parker Ortolani on x
    yes Apple would need to rearchitect their auth stack to stop Beeper mini, so it's not going anywhere in the immediate future... but I won't be shocked if come WWDC next summer they have found a way to kill it
  • @wholemarsblog @wholemarsblog on x
    internals of iMessage, explained [Link to the high school student's blog post explaining how iMessage was reverse engineered]
  • @jason @jason on x
    Apple will block this @linakhanFTC, maybe take a look at interoperability?
  • @repkenbuck Rep. Ken Buck on x
    It's great to see small innovators take wrecking balls to the arbitrary walls of Apple's garden. https://techcrunch.com/...
  • @maxwinebach Max Weinbach on x
    Don't ask me how, but Beeper reverse engineered iMessage and it's now available on Android. No Apple ID required. It seriously works. Been using it for ~2 weeks.
  • @matthew_d_green Matthew Green on x
    This is great! But let's see how long it lasts before Apple breaks the APIs.
  • @sdw Sebastiaan de With on x
    A lot of people are looking at the EU legislation and are excited for a future in which messaging is completely interoperable, but I just see the most important aspect of my daily technology turning into the same stagnant, spam riddled interoperable shitshow that is email.
  • @sdw Sebastiaan de With on x
    Messaging should be built on open protocols that work everywhere. guessing Apple can't shut this down without breaking iMessage for a lot of users. Good. At the same time, if they go ahead with releasing this as open source, the days of very little spam on iMessage are gone.
  • @jcontini Joe Contini on x
    I've been using @onbeeper as my primary messaging app for over a year, prev on Android and now iPhone. Can't recommend it enough. For Android folks, they just shipped your answer to blue bubbles. Check it out! https://blog.beeper.com/...
  • @onbeeper @onbeeper on x
    With Beeper Mini set up, you can also use O.G. Beeper (now Beeper Cloud) to have everything in one bucket. https://blog.beeper.com/... [image]
  • @vyrotek Jason Barnes on x
    Looks like @onbeeper reversed engineered iMessage and managed to keep all the encryption locally secure. It's ridiculous that this is even an issue. But happy to see some pressure on Apple. https://blog.beeper.com/...
  • @mouse_pancake @mouse_pancake on x
    iMessage now possible on Android. Protocol has been reverse-engineered. Just announced an hour ago: Blue bubbles, voice notes, high resolution photos/video, reply-threading... This is going to be the best $2/month I've ever spent. https://blog.beeper.com/...
  • @onbeeper @onbeeper on x
    🪄 The magic happens securely—no workarounds like Mac relays in data centers for this solution! 🔒 Messages route directly to Apple servers with full end-to-end encryption—keys stay on your device only, which Beeper can't access. How Beeper Mini works: https://blog.beeper.com/... […
  • @ericmigi Eric Migicovsky on x
    Oh and if you're an iPhone user, send it to your green bubble Android friends 😉 Browse https://beeper.com/ on your iPhone and get 3 invite codes that give your friends 1 free month of Beeper Mini
  • @lutherlowe Luther Lowe on x
    This is huge 🙌
  • @snazzylabs @snazzylabs on x
    Hey, @nothing @getpeid, here's a tutorial on how to launch a secure iMessage client if you need some help.
  • @snazzylabs @snazzylabs on x
    I got an exclusive first look at Beeper Mini—a new app that completely reverse-engineered the entire iMessage protocol. No macOS relay on some sketchy computer you don't control. All on-device, all properly tokenized, no Apple ID required. This is HUGE. https://www.youtube.com/..…
  • @mishaalrahman Mishaal Rahman on x
    I've been using Beeper Mini for the past few days. It's the first true iMessage client for Android that doesn't relay messages from a Mac Mini server farm or require you to sign into your Apple account. I have finally become a blue bubble! (Article link in the replies.) [image]
  • r/GalaxyS23Ultra r on reddit
    Thoughts?  A real way to get iMessage on Android??
  • r/Android r on reddit
    There's a new iMessage for Android app — and it actually works