Sudden life has been breathed into the iMessage for Android messaging app, Sunbird, after hanging out in a purgatorial beta for several years following security concerns.
In the latest press release since late 2023, Sunbird announced that its iMessage for Android app is now available to everyone on the Google Play Store. The app is currently in an open beta, but the launch follows a rather long hiatus in private beta, in which the company built out the app’s features and backend to address a few pain points.
With those reportedly out of the way, Sunbird wants to offer the iMessage experience to not only Android users, but also to the iPhone users who have to endure green bubbles. Seriously, there’s a lot of green bubble talk in the press release.
The idea is simple, on paper – using an iMessage account, users let Sunbird send and reply to messages through its system. This lets you access iMessages on your Android device, without an iPhone. The app also combines RCS messaging with Apple’s proprietary service to offer a more universal experience for everyone.
It comes with a couple of updates, too. For instance, a new priority inbox has been added for a decluttered experience. It offers a primary and secondary tab for organization, so important chats stay in the right spot.
Sunbird shut down for a short period in 2023 after security concerns arose regarding how it integrates with iMessage – as we were first to report on. The issue stems from the method it uses, which is obtaining access to the user’s Apple ID and acting as a middleman to relay messages back and forth. What we found in 2023 was that Nothing’s “Nothing Chats,” which was powered by Sunbird, was leaking data as those messages tunneled back and forth. At the time, we found over 630,000 files accessible through the vulnerability, because the data was never stored on its own servers.
Sunbird says your messages are “encrypted on your device and in transit” with the latest version. Here’s what the company says on its website:
Security is built into how Sunbird works, starting with the most important thing: we don’t store your messages. Your conversations live on your device and your recipient’s, not on our servers. Your messages are encrypted on your device, in transit, and at rest, and the final leg to an iPhone is protected by Apple’s own iMessage end-to-end encryption. We don’t store your Apple ID password or keep an authentication token, and each user’s iMessage connection runs in its own private space that’s torn down when you disconnect.
Even though Sunbird notes conversations are never left on its servers, the security page goes on to note this in what seems to be a contradiction:
Any media you send or receive is automatically deleted from our systems, typically within 48 hours and never longer than 72.
Sunbird says it’s ready to launch to the public. But there’s still an element of caution recommended with any app utilizing your account information.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments