Android cellphone maker Nothing made waves final week when it introduced that its Nothing Chats app would permit Android customers to turn out to be “blue bubbles,” logging into an Apple ID and sending iMessages between iPhones. The app was powered by Sundbird Messaging, an app, and repair that has been in a closed waitlist beta for nearly a 12 months.
Instantly upon launching the Nothing Chats beta, researchers and journalists found that it failed nearly each safety promise Sunbird makes. Messages in plain textual content, media saved on Google Firebase servers, accessible vcards with contact information, you identify it. Nothing Chats was pulled from the Play Retailer inside a day. And now Sunbird, the app/service upon which it was constructed, has halted operations.
, Sunbird customers at the moment are greeted with a notification that the app is being quickly shut down:
Pricey Sunbird Consumer. We’ve got determined to pause Sunbird utilization for now whereas we examine safety issues. We’ll replace you once we are able to proceed.
Will Sunbird (and subsequently Nothing Chats) ever begin again up once more? That continues to be to be seen. Many of the iMessage options it allows shall be enabled subsequent 12 months when Apple lastly brings RCS to iPhones. The safety lapses present in Sunbird had been extreme sufficient that the corporate absolutely can’t simply pinky-swear they’ve fastened all the pieces—you’d anticipate them to publish an impartial third-party safety audit earlier than resuming operations. And the truth that the service by no means turned broadly accessible because it was introduced final December is considerably problematic.
The time and expense needed to actually alleviate Sunbird’s safety issues in a means that can fulfill the general public could not appear worthwhile with RCS on the horizon for the iPhone. Sure, the bubbles will nonetheless be inexperienced, however you’ll at the very least get learn receipts, full-res media, typing indicators, and extra. It’s unclear what the long run holds for the Sunbird service or Nothing Chats, however this serves as reminder to be very cautious with any app or service that guarantees to allow iMessage on Android.
