Beeper Mini is down for 5% of users, but there's a fix

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion

The hacky iMessage app for Android called Beeper Mini is down for some users, but it seems reinstalling the app should provide a temporary fix.

Beeper Mini
Beeper Mini



Beeper Mini has been experiencing issues for a limited number of users since around 6 p.m. EST. Beeper posted that it's Apple blocking functionality and only affects about 5% of users.

Users experiencing issues can uninstall and then reinstall the app on their Android device for a temporary fix. Beeper says a more permanent fix won't be ready on Wednesday.

Apple appears to be deliberately blocking iMessages from being delivered to ~5% of Beeper Mini users. Uninstalling and reinstalling Beeper Mini fixes the issue.

We won't have a fix tonight, but we're working on it. https://t.co/70KbYfcwjr

— Beeper (@onbeeper)



Apple never released iMessage for Android -- some say it's for lock-in while Apple says it's about user privacy and security. Several third-party clients have emerged over the years to try and bridge iPhone and Android messaging, but all failed until Beeper.

While Beeper Mini is the best attempt yet, Apple is expected to shut it down and prevent it from working again eventually. Developers at Beeper say they are confident their solution can't be blocked, but after Wednesday's issues, it seems Apple is prodding at the implementation.

Beeper had to switch from phone number registration to email after the first shutdown from Apple. Since the system mimics an Apple device, it may be difficult for Apple to squash this implementation.

Beeper Mini is free, for now, while the developers work to ensure the app won't fail again. The original release had a $2 per month subscription attached.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    Dead_PoolDead_Pool Posts: 128member
    Apple Insider seems strangely enthusiastic about this brazen disregard for Apple’s proprietary software. 
    ronnwilliamhwilliamlondonmagman1979JaiOh81watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 8
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,555member
    Dead_Pool said:
    Apple Insider seems strangely enthusiastic about this brazen disregard for Apple’s proprietary software. 
    You're behind the news perhaps?  The new app version requires users to sign in with their own Apple ID. The older version that Apple blocked did not require an ‌Apple ID‌, and it registered each Android user's phone number with Apple's iMessage servers without Apple's permission.  I completely understand and agree with Apple disabling the initial try. 

    To be honest, I don't think it's a big deal anyway. It's some silly US-centric issue AFAICT, a weird fixation that US media and smartphone owners have. For those looking for a messaging service as secure, and often MORE secure, than iMessage there's options already. Outside of the US those "other options" are generally preferred over what Apple offers. 

    Continuing for the near future, just as it's been since inception, iMessage is really not very secure once any non-Apple user enters the conversation. Perhaps that's part of the reason why Apple users in many regions in the world don't use iMessage. Apple is unable to E2EE the conversation, but with other services they can, and do so cross-platform.

    Now if the only people you chat with are other Apple device owners then iMessage is a very secure and private way to do so, no need to look elsewhere. For those people Beeper Mini won't be missed. I can understand why the opinions seem mixed. It depends on where you are, and how embedded in a platform's first-party services. None of the opinions stated are right or wrong for everyone. 
    edited December 2023 muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 3 of 8
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,041member
    It seems like these Beeper people would have been better off collecting bug bounties from Apple.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 8
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,916administrator
    Dead_Pool said:
    Apple Insider seems strangely enthusiastic about this brazen disregard for Apple’s proprietary software. 
    Strange take, but okay. There's no enthusiasm in any of this, nor in any of our other coverage about the cat-and-mouse game that we've made.

    It's Apple-related news. That's what we do.
    gatorguyronnwilliamlondonmuthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 8
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,489member
    People who choose WhatsApp — and many millions of people do — are giving Meta/FaceBook your data (maybe — or maybe not — the content of your messages, but lots and lots of other data) to sell to advertisers and media manipulators.

    I consider such people to be either naive or stupid.

    I don’t care if you use iMessage or Signal, but FFS use a messaging app that is actually end-to-end secure, and not utilized for marketing purposes.
    magman1979JaiOh81watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 8
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 3,000member
    Open letter to Beeper Mini:

    STOP FREELOADING. 

    There is a reason Google itself isn’t doing what your shady little self is doing. 

    Apple doesn’t exist to provide you with a business that scrapes off their hard work and money. 

    Invent your own encrypted messaging app and roll with that, win or lose. 

    Until then, you have no right to complain when the company that put the time and money in to invent iMessage shuts down your siphoning effort. It’s the right thing to do. 
    magman1979watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 8
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,025member
    For anyone claiming that “they’re doing just fine”, just wait. Apple is trying to let them down easily. They don’t really consider them a threat. At least not right now. But if they are unable to block their clear theft of intellectual property, they will do it legally.  I don’t care if they’re using apples servers or not, they are obviously copying the user interface. That’s the entire point of the app. Beeper mini is going to go down in flames.  
    ronnwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 8
    croprcropr Posts: 1,139member
    chasm said:
    People who choose WhatsApp — and many millions of people do — are giving Meta/FaceBook your data (maybe — or maybe not — the content of your messages, but lots and lots of other data) to sell to advertisers and media manipulators.
    Depends on where you live.  When Facebook acquired Whatsapp, the EU explicitely put in the acquisation condiftions, that in the EU Facebook was not allowed to exchange any data between the Whatsapp ecosystem and the Facebook ecosystem.  As a consequence the EULA for Whatsapp in the EU differs considerably from the one in the rest of the world.  

    Whatsapp is in the EU is secure, cross platform messaging app with no strings attached, and has become the de facto standard in the EU even for iOS users.

    Just before Facebook became  Meta, Facebook tried to alter the EULA of Whatsapp in the EU, disguided as an "upgrade", but EU commission immediately reminded Facebook of the applicable acquisation conditions

    edited December 2023 gatorguyronnmuthuk_vanalingam
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