Show HN: Beeper Mini – iMessage client for Android • Hacker News Board

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

#491

Post by xinayder » Tue, Dec 05, 2023, 9:57 PM UTC

erohead wrote: post #64

xinayder wrote: post #45

From their blogpost: https://blog.beeper.com/p/beeper-cloud-and-product-roadmap > Everything changed in August when a security researcher reverse engineered the iMessage protocol. > At a high level, here’s our product plan for the near future (in very rough order, and very subject to change): > Add support for SMS, WhatsApp and Signal into Beeper Mini, using the same end-to-end encrypted client-side connection archit…

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.

As others pointed out, you used official Apple hardware.

Now you're replacing that with Apple's own infrastructure.

They won't like this and I really hope an eventual C&D from Apple, Meta and Signal won't affect the development of the Mautrix bridges.

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

#492

Post by dylan604 » Tue, Dec 05, 2023, 9:57 PM UTC

solardev wrote: post #423

ttul wrote: post #408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Apple does start enforcing signed attestations, they will say that it's to reduce abuse. I have no doubt (being in the anti-abuse world) that spammers and phishing gangs will immediately begin using Beeper to spam iMessage users because this allows them to avoid buying an iOS device. With end-to-end encryption, Apple may also decide to roll out privacy-protecting client-side spam and phishing detection, which woul…

Maybe Apple needs an even blue-r bubble to set apart the super attested users from the mere blue bubble peasants

I imagine the next color being purple since that's a sign of royalty. Hail to the king baby!

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

#493

Post by chatmasta » Tue, Dec 05, 2023, 9:58 PM UTC

seanw265 wrote: post #480

oldandboring wrote: post #434

Thinking maybe this isn't working. I downloaded, installed. It said it detected all my chats with iPhone users and that I was 'upgraded' to iMessage chats with them. I then tried using Beeper Mini to message someone I know has an iPhone (continuing our existing chat that it 'upgraded' from SMS) and I asked him if I was coming up as a blue bubble and he said it's 'grey', not green and definitely not blue.

Can't comment on whether it works or not, but it sounds like there's a mix-up here. On iOS, it would be their bubble that is either blue or green when messaging you, not yours. To an iOS user, everyone else is a grey bubble.

Also, even then, sometimes existing conversations won't automatically switch from SMS to iMessage. I'm not sure what the trigger is - he might just need to wait a while, or delete the thread and start it again.

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

#494

Post by qwytw » Tue, Dec 05, 2023, 9:58 PM UTC

throwaway-blaze wrote: post #462

Wytwwww wrote: post #397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure almost everyone sending messages from an iPhone to another is using it.

Even iPhone users in Europe tend to just use WhatsApp. It's the default there, largely because of the history of carriers charging thru the nose for SMS back in the day...when WhatsApp offered "free" messaging (uses tiny amounts of your data plan), it took off.

> Even iPhone users in Europe tend to just use WhatsApp

Europe is not that homogenous, WhatsApp isn't even the most popular messaging app in much of Central/Eastern Europe and Scandinavia (in addition to that iOS has a similar/higher market share in Norway/Sweden/Denmark than it does in the US).

> of the history of carriers charging thru the nose for SMS back in the day.

Again, this wasn't the case in every European country (where I am text messages were already free or very cheap in the early 2010s so WhatsApp didn't really take off that much and FB Messenger is still quite a bit more popular to this day because it worked on PCs/browsers and most stuck to it when smartphones were becoming popular ).

same applies to Britain and Switzerland.

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

#495

Post by dylan604 » Tue, Dec 05, 2023, 9:58 PM UTC

afavour wrote: post #324

chipgap98 wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I saw an article on the topic where the reporter spoke with Beeper's CEO, Eric Migicovsky. He seems to believe that blocking Beeper might cause problems for legitimate Apple user's. Obviously that outcome is something he wants, but I still think its interesting. [0]: https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/5/23987817/beeper-mini-imes...

That would make sense: because Apple have deeply coupled iMessage to the OS they can’t simply roll out a new version of the app with protocol changes that would block Beeper, they’d have to release entire OS updates. No matter the method it would be a scorched earth approach. I suspect the number of people actually using Beeper will be far below a rounding error for Apple.

You say this like Apple doesn't release OS updates. Why are you putting that as some arbitrary limiter to what Apple could do to protect its walled garden?

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

#496

Post by xinayder » Tue, Dec 05, 2023, 9:59 PM UTC

modeless wrote: post #70

xinayder wrote: post #45

From their blogpost: https://blog.beeper.com/p/beeper-cloud-and-product-roadmap > Everything changed in August when a security researcher reverse engineered the iMessage protocol. > At a high level, here’s our product plan for the near future (in very rough order, and very subject to change): > Add support for SMS, WhatsApp and Signal into Beeper Mini, using the same end-to-end encrypted client-side connection archit…

When TOSes forbid interoperability, breaking them is just.

I agree with this statement but in the end, the effects of Beeper will negatively impact everyone else who hosts a bridge for these services.

Just because a legal binding document seems stupid it doesn't mean you can break them.

I find most laws stupidly worded, it doesn't mean I should disrespect them.

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

#497

Post by topsycatt » Tue, Dec 05, 2023, 9:59 PM UTC

Very cool, but some basic stuff is broken having used the app. For example, I'm unable to create a new conversation since I'm unable to click on a contact after having searched for their name in the "New Chat" flow. Looking forward to using it once this is fixed!

Edit: Seems like I have to double tap instead? Not super easy to use but it works so I'll take it!

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

#498

Post by layer8 » Tue, Dec 05, 2023, 9:59 PM UTC

oceanplexian wrote: post #315

saagarjha wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

This is too high profile. Apple is absolutely, 100% going to kill this and it’s gonna screw this over for those of us who leverage iMessage in Hackintosh environments.

Apple may be reluctant to kill this exactly because it is high profile, given the current anti-trust investigations.

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

#499

Post by Terretta » Tue, Dec 05, 2023, 9:59 PM UTC

jerdthenerd wrote: post #449

Can anyone explain to me why it matters if you have iMessage or not? So what my friends see a green bubble when I message them?

Your telco/carrier can (and do) "read"* your SMS chats.

* Capture, store, share with various authorities and data services, and sometimes advertise against, as well as make available to other people on your account and carrier support.

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

#500

Post by xinayder » Tue, Dec 05, 2023, 10:00 PM UTC

jenny91 wrote: post #106

muxator wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Signal is the same, [...], the only official clients are the CLI and the ones they release Is there an officially supported CLI for Signal? Please tell me it's true, that would mean so much for small scale automation!

Not official but this works darn well: https://github.com/AsamK/signal-cli

It's not official but they don't want to kill it for some reason, maybe their own devs use it for testing