U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has thrown her support behind Beeper, an app that facilitated messaging between Android and iPhone users through iMessage until Apple intervened.
Founded by Eric Migicovsky, the creator of Pebble smartwatches, Beeper initially aimed to aggregate various chat apps into a unified interface, now known as Beeper Cloud. The company later introduced Beeper Mini, a $1.99/month app dedicated to bringing iMessage to Android users.
However, Apple swiftly halted Beeper Mini’s operations before it could gain traction, raising uncertainties about its future viability given Apple’s ability to identify Beeper users.
Warren, a proponent of stringent antitrust measures, expressed her concerns on X, questioning Apple’s decision to restrict a potential competitor. This move by Apple has now drawn attention from legislators, highlighting the potential for regulatory actions against Big Tech.
In her tweet, Warren pointed out the security argument made by Apple, stating, “Green bubble texts are less secure. So why would Apple block a new app allowing Android users to chat with iPhone users on iMessage?” She emphasized the need for easy and secure cross-platform communication, accusing Big Tech executives of safeguarding profits at the expense of stifling competition.
The dispute arose when Apple took action against Beeper, a startup that had reverse-engineered the iMessage protocol to enable Android users to engage in iMessage conversations with Apple device owners, characterized by the iconic blue bubbles.
Apple justified its decision by citing user protection concerns, claiming that Beeper’s techniques posed risks to security and privacy, including potential metadata exposure and the facilitation of unwanted messages, spam, and phishing attacks.
Apple argued that it took necessary steps to block techniques exploiting fake credentials to gain access to iMessage, asserting that Beeper’s security measures could not be verified. In response, Beeper maintained that it provided the same level of encryption as iMessage but acknowledged not undergoing a third-party security audit before its launch.
As of the latest update, Beeper’s team is actively working to address the outage and is optimistic about sharing positive developments soon.