Beeper Mini, a service designed to enable Android users to access Apple’s iMessage, faced a temporary setback last week when Apple blocked the service due to privacy and security concerns.
Despite Beeper’s assertion of secure communication between Android and iPhone users, Apple took swift action to address what it deemed significant risks to user security and privacy.
Following the brief interruption, Beeper announced the restoration of its services on Monday, December 11, via a blog post. However, significant changes were made. Beeper Mini users are now required to log in using an Apple ID, as phone number registration has been discontinued.
Beeper has deregistered all phone numbers, and messages will now be sent and received via the email address associated with the user’s Apple ID.
Acknowledging the disruption in service consistency, Beeper has temporarily made Beeper Mini free to use, with plans to reintroduce subscription fees once the platform stabilizes. Initially priced at $1.99 per month, the subscription fee was suspended to accommodate users during the transition.
The latest update is available for download on the Google Play Store, and users encountering issues with two-factor authentication are advised to uninstall and reinstall the application.
In response to Apple’s allegations of security deficiencies, Beeper reiterated in its blog post that its services are locally hosted, end-to-end encrypted. Beeper also expressed its willingness to share the entire source code for security evaluation with mutually agreed-upon third parties, provided Apple agrees to such an assessment.
