In the latest chapter in the blue bubble and green bubble, Apple has blocked access to iMessage by credentials pretending to be from Apple to protect its customers, the company told CNET on Saturday night. This happened after companies like Beeper and Nothing released Android apps that provided workarounds.
The iPhone maker said it cannot verify messages sent through “unauthorized” means disguised as valid Apple credentials. Messages sent via iMessage are end-to-end encrypted and can only be accessed by the sender and recipient. Apple said it blocked these “fake credentials” to protect customers.
The move comes a week after Beeper reverse engineered access to iMessage, allowing people using Android or Windows to use the service to send iMessages from non-Apple devices. It was done before I knew it. Messages sent by an Android user to his iPhone owner via his SMS usually appear as green bubbles, but will appear in blue if sent from the Beeper Mini Android app.
In a statement provided to CNET, Apple said: “At Apple, we use industry-leading privacy and security technologies designed to give you control over your data and keep your personal information safe. “We are building products and services based on “We have taken steps to protect our users by blocking techniques that exploit fake credentials to access iMessage.”
To maintain end-to-end encryption, Apple cannot verify whether messages sent through an impersonated app have valid credentials.
“These technologies posed significant risks to user security and privacy, including the potential for metadata leaks and the potential for unwanted messages, spam, and phishing attacks,” Apple said. “We will continue to make updates to protect our users.”
Beeper Mini users took to Reddit on Friday to share that they were unable to send or receive messages using the app. Some speculated that Apple might be blocking them. Beeper co-founder Eric Migicovsky told CNET that there was “overwhelming interest” in the app, although he did not say what caused the outage. Migicovsky suggested that Apple may have blocked Beeper’s access. Turns out he was right.
All of this follows Apple’s recent statement that it will adopt the RCS texting standard in 2024.
This is a developing story.
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