Beeper Mini: iMessage function only had a brief guest appearance on Android
After less than two weeks, the iMessage function of the Beeper app is already history again. Now a workaround is needed again. The start-up Beeper is tired of the cat-and-mouse game.
Download figures explode when Beeper announces that the "Beeper Mini" app can send and receive iMessage messages to iPhones. Samuel and I also successfully tested the function.
Our joy didn't last long, because Beeper threw in the towel. The company behind the app announced this on its blog. There is currently still a workaround for sending iMessages from Beeper Mini. However, if this is blocked by Apple again, it will be over. Instead of losing credibility because the function is permanently unreliable, the company wants to refocus on its long-term goal. This is to "develop the best chat app in the world".
Workarounds are becoming increasingly challenging for users
The guest appearance of iMessage did not last long. Just a few days after the function was launched, Apple found a way to block it. Every time Beeper has subsequently presented a new workaround for the function, it has become more cumbersome for users.
Currently, you need a jailbroken iPhone and a Mac or Linux computer. In addition, the iPhone must always be connected to the power supply and a Wi-Fi network. Beeper provides instructions on how this works.
The company is even planning to rent out jailbroken iPhones at a favourable price if there is sufficient interest. Those responsible hope that the current solution is "tolerable" for Apple, precisely because it is unlikely to meet with widespread interest. Otherwise, it's over - although, according to Beeper, this function "should definitely exist". However, it is impossible to "win this cat-and-mouse game against the biggest company in the world."
After the launch of the app, Apple criticised the lack of security in the exchange with iPhones. However, Beeper denied this. End-to-end encryption is guaranteed at all times. In their opinion, Apple's concern was only for the sales figures of iPhones.
Cover image: ShutterstockI've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.