Beeper Mini / native iMessage for Android

Privacy
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Anyone here dying to use iMessage natively on Android?
It is possible now with Beeper Mini - without giving away your AppleID to a 3rd party.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.beeper.ima

Full explanation how it works:

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Is this related to the matrix client/service beaper?

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Yes. Beeper Mini will replace the old Beeper eventually.

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If you can’t stand watching YouTube videos like me:

Can’t wait for Apple to add hardware attestation functionality to iMessage and break this :upside_down_face:

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Not sure how I feel about this shift away from matrix tbh. Kinda feels like they’re giving up on the standard.

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Based on the description of the tech this is (for iMessage at least) waaaaaaaay more secure and less sketchy than their previous implementation was.

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If anyone has already gone through the signup process, do you know if the below is a hard requirement:

When you first start the Beeper Mini app and sign in with Google

Also, does anyone know if the phone number you use must be the number associated with your actual SIM card that is active on your actual device, or a number connected to a Google account?

It would be really cool if this could work with a MySudo (or any other VOIP number)

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I just went through signing up, and yes, I believe it was a hard requirement. I might have missed a bypass, but it seemed to be like I had to register with my Google account.

(Note: I didn’t complete the registration and uninstalled because it costs $2/month after a week free trial.)

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Seems like a weird requirement since it is not a Google service. I guess probably it has to do with in-app payments though. But that is a bummer considering that a large proportion of Android users in this community are either not using Google services at all, not logging into a google account, or trying their best to limit their use of Google services.

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Was it even developed for this comunity? It feels more for the people who want the ‘blue bubble’

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I’m not sure. I don’t know much about the company. I assumed it was at least somewhat targeting this community broadly because of the first couple paragraphs of the linked blog post seem fairly focused on the concerns of our community. It may just be that it is because it’s a technical blogpost, but they certainly seem to be speaking our language moreso than they would be with a mainstream audience:

Excerpt from Linked Article

We work to earn and keep your trust in three ways:

  1. Transparency - since we started Beeper 3 years ago, we’ve been taking opportunities like this to explain how Beeper works. We have a proud history of building products, like Pebble, and stand publicly behind our work.
  2. Open source - each major piece of software that we’ve built to interact with other chat networks is open source at github.com/beeper.
  3. Privacy and security-aligned business model - we make great software and charge a small subscription fee. Simple as that. No ads. Your data stays private.

Security and privacy

Read the entire post for the full story. TLDR: the following features of Beeper Mini ensure that all communication is encrypted and secure.

  • All messages are end-to-end encrypted before being sent. Beeper (and Apple) cannot see your messages.
  • Encryption keys never leave your device.
  • Beeper Mini connects directly to Apple servers. There is no Mac server relay, like other apps.
  • No Apple ID is required. Beeper does not have access to your Apple account.
  • Your contact list never leaves your device.

Don’t believe this is possible? Try the open-source Python proof of concept on your own computer to see for yourself. Security researchers are invited to verify all claims that we make, see appendix below.

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True, such a weird proct in that case though :thinking:

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looked at the app, it requires a google account to sign up… I am super sceptical.

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I dont understand why cant they just ask directly for the payment with Visa or MasterCard if they are worried.

IIRC they have MacPro servers for the sole purpose of making your messages a different color, so you really cant fork their project unkess you have a Mac, I guess? they claim they dont have a mac server in between?

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That’s really the strangest thing I read in times on this forum. Why would you accept them to force a google account upon you. It makes zero sense.

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I agree with TGRush, it’s for convenience.
Folks, don’t forget that 99%+ of the people do not care about these annoying privacy things. They want stuff to just work and Google provides that.

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Now that pretty much everyone has moved forward online and know the internet, is understanding privacy and security the equivalent of what was “computer literacy” of yeterday’s typewriter era?

Are we the vegans of the online world?

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Accurate and based.

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as per beeper developers: “We are looking into non Google ways to sign in and pay, using the Google ways was just the simplest thing to do for v1”

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:headstone: aaaaaand … it’s gone

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