Nothing Phone says will hack iMessage and bring Blue Bubbles to Android

Could an Android OEM make its way into Apple’s iMessage? This is the hard-to-believe plan from startup phone maker Nothing, which says new “Nothing chatsIt will allow users to use “iMessage on Android” while sending a blue bubble to all their friends on iPhone.

Nothing Chat will be run by Sunbird, an app developer that has claimed to be able to send iMessage conversations for about a year, without a public launch. according to Washington Post Article containing quotes from Nothing and Sunbird executives Nothing will “begin” rolling out an “early version” of Nothing Chats compatible with iMessage on Friday. Presumably the only problem is that you’ll need the Nothing Phone 2.

Is this real or a publicity stunt? Apple says iMessage on Android will only weaken Apple, and it doesn’t want to do that. Any Android OEM offering support for “iMessage” would almost certainly have the project shut down immediately by Apple.

Quotes in the Post article from Nothing and Sunbird appear as Dare More than anything else. “There’s nothing illegal about this setup,” CEO Carl Pei told the newspaper. “I think everything we do will be passed on inside Cupertino, but we’re so small that it would look very bad if Apple took any action.” Danny Mizrahi, president, added Sunbird executive: “We don’t see a scenario where Apple would, or could, try to block these messages. Apple’s focus has been overtly on providing the best experience for its end users, and Nothing Chats and Sunbird help with that.

It’s hard to believe that something like this could be a long-term service, and it looks like it’s set to be shut down immediately.

The many red flags for Sunbird

Sunbird The company has claimed to be able to send iMessages on Android for a long time, but it’s past its launch deadline and generally doesn’t seem like a serious company. The company announced itself to the world with the promise of iMessage on Android during a press conference in December 2022. I attended that meeting and didn’t write about it because Sunbird’s questionable presentation didn’t meet my standards for a story. To me, the purpose of such a press conference is to overcome doubts about the claim that you can permanently hack iMessage. Being honest with the press would have helped, but Sunbird refused to answer open questions in its first major appearance. Sunbird’s PR person agreed and asked all the questions, the Zoom chat was shut down, and the company did not answer any of the basic technical questions.

How does Sunbird work? Why should people trust Sunbird with their all-important Apple account credentials, which contain some people’s entire online lives and, in some cases, a physical bank account? How are these credentials secured? Is it stored on Sunbird servers somewhere? Wouldn’t hacking iMessage with a third-party client violate Apple’s terms of service, which could result in an account ban? Won’t Apple shut this down once you launch? These are all crucial and obvious questions He was Asked at the meeting, some by me, not all answered. Instead, the Sunbird folks focused on how great it would be if the whole world could hold hands and share access to blue chat bubbles. Not only was it ridiculous, but the company completely failed to convince the skeptical listener that it was real or acknowledge that there was any doubt to be overcome.

Even today, almost a year later, the company does not answer these questions Its FAQ. The sunbird hasPrivacy and security“A page that does not answer anything regarding the privacy or security of your Apple credentials. This company just wants to eliminate any concerns. To me, without the company providing general, comprehensive explanations about Apple ID security, it seems difficult to take them seriously.