If those dreaded green bubble text messages are the only thing stopping you from making the switch over to Android, today could be your lucky day.
A new, unofficial iMessage app for Android is here.
It's called Beeper Mini, and it's an Android app — not affiliated with Apple in any way — that lets you send blue-bubble text messages that were previously only available to Apple users.
Beeper says the app also allows you to access features that were previously only available on iMessage and iPhone, like Apple's read receipts, full-resolution picture and video attachments, emoji reactions, voice messages, and stickers.
The app is bound to annoy Apple, which is fiercely protective of its iMessage technology — after all, the coveted blue-bubble texts are a key way the iPhone company keeps people locked into its product ecosystem. So while the app is available for download on the Google Play store now, don't be surprised if Apple tries to intervene and get it removed.
The app requires a $1.99 monthly subscription. Beeper Mini cofounder Eric Migicovsky told Business Insider the fee is to show that it's a trustworthy service and keeps it free of ads. The company won't sell or upload your data, he added.
Beeper says the app will connect your Android phone to Apple servers and allow you to send and receive end-to-end encrypted messages — and it doesn't read your messages.
The prototype for the app came from a surprising source — it was created by a 16-year-old student, according to Migicovsky. The teenager reached out to him over Discord last summer and said he had reverse-engineered iMessage, which had never been done before, according to Migicovsky.
Beeper isn't technically the first Android app to offer the ability to send blue-bubble texts to iPhone owners. The smartphone company Nothing briefly offered a similar iMessage app earlier this year before it was removed over privacy concerns.
Migocvsky told BI that neither Apple nor any of its legal representatives have been in touch about the app, and the company said it doesn't use any of Apple's code.
"Beeper Mini actually makes iPhone users have a better experience," Migiocvsky said, referring to the fact that currently, cross-platform texting can be an awkward and frustrating experience.
"I think the most important thing is that a green bubble chat is not encrypted, whereas the blue bubble chat is encrypted," he said. "So I'm optimistic here. I think Apple will actually appreciate that Beeper mini makes iPhone users lives better."
Migicovsky declined to specify how many people have downloaded the app so far, but said that information will be available within the next couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, Apple plans to adopt the RCS messaging standard following a years-long pressure campaign from Google and Samsung. The move will improve texting between Android and iPhones, allowing for photos and videos to be sent between the platforms without resulting in fuzzy, compressed media files. However, it likely won't make green-bubble texts go away.
Beeper Mini currently just supports iMessage, but Migicovsky said the company is working on supporting other platforms like SMS and RCS in the future.
