Last week, Beeper Mini debuted as a way to bring iMessage to Android without having to hand over your Apple ID credentials. A few days later, Apple made a change that stopped Beeper Mini from working – and it promised to continue doing so.
Apple’s decision has already attracted attention from at least one lawmaker, with US Senator Elizabeth Warren criticizing Apple’s move to shut down Beeper Mini.
In a post on social media, Warren questioned why Apple would “block a new app allowing Android users to chat with iPhone users on iMessage,” given that “green bubble texts are less secure.” According to the Massachusetts senator, this is another example of tech companies “protecting profits by squashing competitors.”
“Green bubble texts are less secure. So why would Apple block a new app allowing Android users to chat with iPhone users on iMessage? Big Tech executives are protecting profits by squashing competitors.
Chatting between different platforms should be easy and secure.”
Apple is already under intense antitrust scrutiny for a variety of different reasons, ranging from the App Store to iPhone lock-in. Whether its decision to crack down on Beeper Mini actually adds much fuel to that fire remains to be seen. Still, it took surprisingly little time for lawmakers to get involved in the saga.
In a statement to 9to5Mac late on Saturday night, Apple confirmed it had taken steps to block “techniques that exploit fake credentials in order to gain access to iMessage.” While the statement didn’t specifically mention Beeper Mini, Apple promised to “continue to make updates in the future to protect our users.”
Similar to Warren, Apple’s statement also emphasized the importance of security – but with a different twist. Apple argued that it has no way of telling whether messages sent through Beeper Mini maintain end-to-end encryption.
As of Monday afternoon, Beeper Mini is back online – though there are a few asterisks this time around. Not to mention, Apple will almost certainly find a way to block it once more.
Follow Chance: Threads, Twitter, Instagram, and Mastodon.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments