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Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

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Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#241

Post by SllX »

microtonal wrote: post #211
SllX wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correction: iMessage is offered as a value-add to people who purchase supported Apple hardware (iPhones, Macs, iPads, Apple Watches).

That’s a positive way to formulate it. The more cynical formulation is that it is a way to lock people into the Apple ecosystem and (especially in the US) to apply social pressure to people to buy an iPhone.

Apple isn’t in the business of offering anything to Android users without getting anything in return. A value-add is something you offer only your existing or prospective customers, and that can have a lock-in effect, but only if you value it a lot. Keep in mind when iMessage launched, that it only worked with other iPhone users was a much heftier limitation because the smartphone market still had Symbian, BlackBerries, Windows Mobile, and Palm in it in addition to some very early Android models, and not everybody buying cellphones was buying smartphones yet.

Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#242

Post by crayboff »

tomstockmail wrote: post #205
pyrophane wrote: post #18

I'm on the fence about using this. I don't want to switch all my conversations over to iMessage and then have Apple figure out how to ban this. That kind of feels like a recipe for lost messages.

For those trying it out or if it does get banned, here's the iMessage unregistration link: https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage/

Thank you, this was probably my biggest concern

Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#243

Post by Rebelgecko »

jaktet wrote: post #147
Rebelgecko wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm on the wait list for Beeper, except sometimes when I check my position I've actually gone further back in line somehow.

I can invite you if you want. I just need a platform to send you a message on then I can do it through the app.

Thanks, that'd be awesome. If email works you can use my username @gmail.com

Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#244

Post by freedomben »

gabeio wrote: post #97
modeless wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Again, they would have to answer to EU courts. They are legally required to be interoperable now. Banning non-iPhones would definitely be litigated.

Good luck testifying that they specifically adjusted a private internal protocol to block an App vs improve/iterate on the existing protocol.

That would be easy and wouldn't even require lying. "We identified and fixed a security vulnerability and fixed it"

Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#245

Post by gkbrk »

rootusrootus wrote: post #227
standardUser wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They need to install the app, which is free. What they don't need to do is buy an iPhone, which is not free.

Android phones are free? I have to buy the phone no matter what, so I don't see that as a differentiator. I don't want multiple ecosystems that don't interoperate at all. I don't want to give my private conversations over to an ad company like Facebook. I like iMessage because it adds features without taking. I don't worry about what app I need to use depending on who I want to talk to, I just send them a message and…

You can run Android apps on almost any non-Apple brand of phones, Windows PCs, Linux, Mac OS and Chromebooks.

You can run iMessage on Apple devices, nowhere else.

Surely you see the difference.

Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#246

Post by saagarjha »

chdefrene wrote: post #222
jdiez17 wrote: post #126

It seems that at least the push notification registration part uses a "leaked/extracted" FairPlay private key [1]. As far as I understand, FairPlay certificates/keys should be unique to each iDevice. Couldn't Apple trivially ban all subscriptions originating from this fake device? The comment says you know how to generate more; does Beeper Mini generate one for each install? Why would Apple believe those certificates…

Snazzy Labs did an overview video [1] about this implementation. According to them, reusing a specific hardware token is such s common practice that Apple would need to "redesign their entire authentication and delivery strategy" to mitigate this problem. I guess we'll see how this statement holds up in the coming weeks/months. [1] https://youtu.be/S24TDRxEna4?t=5m38s

This didn’t really say much. Apple definitely knows about Hackintosh users, they mostly just don’t care. The question is whether they will actually do something if made to care.

Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#247

Post by ronsor »

esrauch wrote: post #115
erohead wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beeper (Cloud) has been around for 3 years. It supports iMessage, Whatsapp, Signal and 12 other chat networks. We have 100,000 users on Beeper Cloud. We haven't had a single problem like the one you're describing. Not to say it will never happen.

If Beeper Cloud uses a Mac in the middle then I would have assumed that is actually permitted, as its presumably a legitimate iMessage client and some software to forward your messages after that. It seems similar to the parallel of iOS builds where its been possible to do so with virtualized MacOS on non-Mac hardware for a long time but its a violation of the TOS of MacOS to do so. Apple does spend effort ensuring t…

Apple or Meta (WhatsApp) trying to take down something like this would almost certainly be viewed unfavorably by the ever-lurking EU regulators.

Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#248

Post by freedomben »

MBCook wrote: post #99
modeless wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Apple bans this they will have to answer to EU courts. I very much doubt they will in this political climate.

And if Beeper keeps it up they’re likely running afoul of the CFAA in the US. The EU doesn’t rule the world. They haven’t forced iMessage open yet, and Apple is clearly trying to avoid it with their announced RCS support. I don’t think things are as far along as you do.

Not to mention, nearly everyone in power in the US has an iPhone, and Apple is a darling of the establishment in the left and the right, and virtually nobody else has any power.

Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#249

Post by yowzadave »

nullwarp wrote: post #203
standardUser wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only "ethics" problem I see is a company using it's considerable weight to deliberately segregate users of different platforms, resulting in discrimination and bullying. I understand a lot of people here may not understand this, on account of not being a teenager or young adult, but it is a very real phenomenon.

Not even young at this point. I overheard two grown men talking about how much they hate people with green bubbles and purposely skip inviting them into group chats because of it.

To be clear, I don’t think people actually look down on green bubbles vs. blue ones, it’s just that the presence of a green bubble in a Messages chat leads to numerous issues with threading, reactions, etc. (which is also something we can blame Apple for, but different than disliking a person for using an Android phone).

Re: Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android

#250

Post by freedomben »

riddlemethat wrote: post #237
actionfromafar wrote: post #170

Recently I got a spam iMessage from a sort of empty contact. There was no number, no email address. I thought this was impossible, that there had to some kind of ID connected. Can someone explain what's going on?

I just got some iMessage spam yesterday. Now I know why. This jailbreak will make it less likely for someone to be able to trust iMessage.

and that's exactly the justification Apple needs to squash this. I'm not saying you're wrong (you're not), just that I'm pessimistic on this project's future.
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