Apple has formally responded to the Beeper Mini controversy, confirming it minimize off the Android app’s entry to iMessage citing “vital dangers to person safety and privateness.”
The shutdown of Beeper Mini’s entry to the iMessage community on Friday was sudden, and it was believed to have been instigated by Apple. Late on Saturday, Apple confirmed it to be the case.
In a press release supplied to The Verge, Apple explains “We took steps to guard our customers by blocking methods that exploit pretend credentials so as to achieve entry to iMessage.”
The iPhone maker added that the methods used posed “vital dangers to person safety and privateness,” with these dangers together with metadata publicity, undesirable messages, spam, and phishing assaults.
Whereas Beeper says it’s working to repair its app, Apple’s assertion signifies it’s going to “proceed to make updates sooner or later to guard our customers,” making it tough for the app to exist on the platform.
In its response, Beeper posted to X that it stands behind the app, and insists Beeper Mini retains messages non-public and boosts safety when in comparison with unencrypted SMS.
“For anybody who claims in any other case, we might be joyful to offer our total supply code to mutually agreed upon third celebration to judge the safety of our app,” it provides.
On Friday, Beeper founder Eric Migicovsky questioned Apple’s choice, asking “If Apple really cares in regards to the privateness and safety of their very own iPhone customers, why would they cease a service that allows their very own customers to now ship encrypted messages to Android customers, slightly than utilizing unsecure SMS?”
Apple’s full assertion follows:
At Apple, we construct our services with industry-leading privateness and safety applied sciences designed to offer customers management of their information and preserve private info secure. We took steps to guard our customers by blocking methods that exploit pretend credentials so as to achieve entry to iMessage. These methods posed vital dangers to person safety and privateness, together with the potential for metadata publicity and enabling undesirable messages, spam, and phishing assaults. We’ll proceed to make updates sooner or later to guard our customers.
