Apple has reportedly shuttered the app Beeper Mini due to "significant risks" to user security and privacy.
The app allowed Android users to text with blue iMessage bubbles like on iPhone and iPad, however, the tech giant claims that despite their promise that it would offer end-to-end encryption this was allegedly not the case.
Apple's senior PR manager Nadine Haija told The Verge: "At Apple, we build our products and services with industry-leading privacy and security technologies designed to give users control of their data and keep personal information safe. We took steps to protect our users by blocking techniques that exploit fake credentials in order to gain access to iMessage. These techniques posed significant risks to user security and privacy, including the potential for metadata exposure and enabling unwanted messages, spam, and phishing attacks. We will continue to make updates in the future to protect our users."
Beeper founder Eric Migicovsky added to the outlet: "If Apple truly cares about the privacy and security of their own iPhone users, why would they stop a service that enables their own users to now send encrypted messages to Android users, rather than using unsecure SMS?"
Responding to the article, Beeper posted on X: "We stand behind what we've built. Beeper Mini keeps your messages private, and boosts security compared to unencrypted SMS. For anyone who claims otherwise, we'd be happy to give our entire source code to mutually agreed upon third party to evaluate the security of our app."
