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Exactly. If someone doesn’t like Apple’s stance of prioritizing privacy and security over expanded functionality, customization and interoperability, they can just choose one of the many alternatives. I don’t understand why some of these individuals choose to insist on Apple changing their principles and products then resort to name calling when others disagree with them.

Don’t be naive, that’s not apple’s stance it’s apple’s BS. Their real stance is prioritizing profits over expanded functionality, customization and interoperability. It’s all about money, not security/privacy.
 
Define "hacking into the messaging system". Beeper reverse-engineered a protocol (which is legal) and interacted with public-facing services (which again is legal). They were not "hacking into" any system.
The reverse-engineering argument keeps being used but it's not so simple. That section of the copyright act still requires that certain guidelines are followed for it to be legal. In that aspect, it's something that would have a more solid determination in court. And there could be other variables that Apple is worried about (besides the ecosystem) but won't disclose.
 
What’s your point? There are certainly real security concerns about both of these topics. I’d certainly expect Apple to “jump in with” them.

That apple isn’t really that much concerned about security, that’s just the BS they spit out every time to justify what they do. In reality, all they care about is their profits. Money and only money.
 
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Are you also wanting A&W to make Big Macs?

iMessage is not anticompetitive when the market is *filled* with competitive alternatives.

Then why are most american iphone users ignoring those competitive alternatives and limiting themselves to imessage and sms only?
 
They still can. Apple onky blocked the fake serial numbers, not the real ones.

An interesting question is why Apple allowed registering a phone number from a “Mac” in the first place. iMessage on non-iPhone devices requires logging in with an Apple ID and password. iPhones can use a phone number by sending a behind the scene SMS code to Apple and register that way.

Seeing a ‘Mac running Mountain Lion” registering a phone number via SMS should have been a big red flag.
 
It’s absolutely the reason it got shut down… Think of it this way, imagine if AirMessage or BlueBubbles made millions off using iMessage on Android. You telling me that Apple wouldn’t have stepped in?

Beeper made it to #2 in communication category within 2 days and had 100k+ downloads… they was planning on making a huge sum of money. It’s not about some hack or security issue… it’s about Beeper attaching money onto this project.

It’s not just monetization, it’s because beeper mini is a risk to apple’s profits. They use imessage’s exclusivity to sell more iphones and lock people into their ecosystem. Anyone allowing android users to use imessage natively, even if it were for free, puts apple’s business at risk.
 
Their concerns around spam are directly tied to the untrustworthiness of the Android platform across all versions and devices.

Might be rock solid on the latest Pixel devices, but some cheapo phone from Asia running an older version might be full of compromises.

There is no "one" Android.
The ultimate argument against interoperability between iOS and Android. You know what the most secure system is? A system nobody can use.
 
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That apple isn’t really that much concerned about security, that’s just the BS they spit out every time to justify what they do. In reality, all they care about is their profits. Money and only money.
That’s just a rant. You’re presenting a false dichotomy. Apple can certainly care about security and profits. Especially considering security can impact their profits.
 
While I personally am not Beeper's target audience (as in, iOS user,) I really do sympathize with them as a dev. I don't think there's anything that could be more crushing than a community or team spending days reverse engineering a protocol or API only to have it completely flipped on you the next day.
For all the unofficial hackyness of the implementation, it tends to only be like that when there's no other reasonable option. See, Twitter's nonsense and Nitter developers' response.
I hope Apple can either reach some sort of private agreement or document the protocol if they really did only have good intentions.
 
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It’s not just monetization, it’s because beeper mini is a risk to apple’s profits. They use imessage’s exclusivity to sell more iphones and lock people into their ecosystem. Anyone allowing android users to use imessage natively, even if it were for free, puts apple’s business at risk.
With AirMessage and BlueBubbles… I’m able to forgo using an iPhone while using iMessage on my Galaxy Fold.

And I’m fully aware AirMessage and BlueBubbles implementation is different from Beeper Mini, but the end result is the same... I do not have to buy an iPhone. Which, as you claim… is a risk to Apple’s profit. However, since they are not trying to monetize their project… Apple will not react.
 
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Following Apple's statement, Beeper CEO Eric Migicovsky expressed his willingness to cooperate with Apple for a security review of Beeper's code
“Hey, Apple, I know I stole your code and plagiarized it so that I could use it for my benefit, but I’m totally willing to work with you to help me make my code good enough for me to utilize it on a competing operating system, and make a profit off of it”

Yeah that’s gonna go well
 
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Ok I’m not an advocate of ‘throwing Timmy in jail’, but you’re kidding yourself if you think Apple isn’t anti-competitive when it comes to iMessage. Apple could offer iMessage on Android, but intentionally chose not to do so because they were afraid more kids would chose Android relative to their parents - this actually came out in public discovery in the Epic v Apple court case.

Also, when asked publicly about RCS or cross platform support for secure, rich communications between Apple and Android users, Tim famously said ‘buy your mom an iPhone’

I would posit to you a company whose answer to cross compatibility is simply ‘Make everyone on planet Earth buy our iPhones, problem solved!’ is extremely monopolistic and anticompetitive.

Source: Yahoo News
“During a question-and-answer session, a journalist raised the issue of the iPhone’s incompatibility with rich communication services (RCS) messaging, preventing the seamless sharing of video clips with their Android-using mom. It’s been a longstanding issue between Apple and Android devices. Cook acknowledged that it isn’t a top priority for the company. If the reporter wanted to fix the issue, Cook joked, “buy your mom an iPhone.””

Source: The Verge
“Eddy Cue pushed to bring iMessage to Android as early as 2013, according to a new deposition made public as part of the Epic case. Currently Apple’s senior VP of software and services, Cue wanted to devote a full team to iMessage support on Android, only to be overruled by other executives.
The line of questioning is likely to play a significant role in Epic’s antitrust lawsuit, which argues that iOS app store exclusivity represents an illegal use of market power. Epic has made clear in previous filings that it plans to make iMessage exclusivity part of that argument, citing a 2016 email from Phil Schiller that argues iMessage expansion “will hurt us more than help us.””
If you look at the definition and examples of anticompetitive behavior, every single market leading company engages in it publicly. We need a new definition because these anticompetitive proceedings and fines have become performative.
 
I see no problem that Apple shut down this hack. After all many forget that Apple developed, marketed and has enhanced iMessage on their own. Personally I just find it disappointing that folks keep trying to say it is a monopolistic when it was Apple that did the work. So if someone try’s a hack Apple has all rights to close that hack and any others that come along.
 
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With AirMessage and BlueBubbles… I’m able to forgo using an iPhone while using iMessage on my Galaxy Fold.

And I’m fully aware AirMessage and BlueBubbles implementation is different from Beeper Mini, but the end result is the same... I do not have to buy an iPhone. Which, as you claim… is a risk to Apple’s profit. However, since they are not trying to monetize their project… Apple will not react.

airmessage requires the use of a mac as a server. Beeper mini allowed android users to run imessage directly from their android devices just as if they were using an iphone. That difference motivates a lot more people to download it.
 
“Limited” to iMessage? 😂

Limited to SMS when it comes to non-iphone users, actually. There are alternatives to that and they’ve been mentioned here, but american iphone owners simply ignore them and stupidly use the decades-old and unencrypted sms to chat with non-iphone users. And it’s partly apple’s fault for merging imessage and sms in the same app.
 
airmessage requires the use of a mac as a server. Beeper mini allowed android users to run imessage directly from their android devices just as if they were using an iphone. That difference motivates a lot more people to download it.
As I stated… the implementation is different lol.

But the end result allows me to not buy an iPhone… and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a Mac, it’s possible using a PC as well (via virtual machine). The point I’m making… which keeps getting glossed over. If Beeper Mini didn’t attempt to monetize their project, I highly doubt Apple would have reacted.
 
airmessage requires the use of a mac as a server. Beeper mini allowed android users to run imessage directly from their android devices just as if they were using an iphone. That difference motivates a lot more people to download it.
Which only makes sense since MacOS doesn't support android phones well, fewer android people have Macs to run airmessage.
 
As I stated… the implementation is different lol.

But the end result allows me to not buy an iPhone… and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a Mac, it’s possible using a PC as well (via virtual machine). The point I’m making… which keeps getting glossed over. If Beeper Mini didn’t attempt to monetize their project, I highly doubt Apple would have reacted.

And as I stated before it’s not because they monetized that apple reacted, or at least not only because of that. It’s because beeper mini eliminated the need for a server (mac or pc with virtual machine) in between.
 
As much as I hate Apples BS the last decade…Beeper can pound sand. If Apple wants people on its platform it would provide the tools. Using an exploit to build a business off someone else’s platform is really just stealing. I’d shut them down too. Build your own chat system if you want….dont bootleg someone else’s and charge for it.
 
Was only a matter of time before Apple took action. Only way to get iMessage on Android is if Apple actually supports it
 
Just buy a budget iPhone and carry two phones with you to text your iPhone friends and family. Most people already carry two phones.
 
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