Oct 7, 2022
Hey guys. So, I recently learned how to get iMessage on Android. Specifically, on my Z Fold 3. And no it wasn’t thanks to some black magic.
First, if you don’t feel like reading you can watch my video about this below.
It is thanks to an app called Beeper. You may have heard of it before. If you haven’t let me tell you about it. The founder of Pebble(the smartwatch) leads a team which has found a way to bring iMessage and other messaging apps together in one app.
Along with iMessage you can get your Facebook Messenger messages, Slack, Google Chat, LinkedIn, and others are all able to be wrangled together.
But I’m just going to talk about iMessage.
How does it work
So you have a couple of ways to allow Beeper to send
and receive iMessages for you.
One way is by self hosting the the server on your own server.
You can also connect to one of their secure macOS servers to act as
a bridge.
Now if you are wary about that second option you aren’t the only one.
Worry not though.
Beeper takes your privacy seriously.
Because of this, the company encrypts your message content
and attachments with end-to-end encryption before storing.
Here is a link for their privacy policy.
No longer Green with Envy
With that out of the way, finally Android users can use iMessage.
Kind of. You see the Beeper app is built using the Matrix protocol.
If you don’t know what that is, here is a link to read up on it.
But, all of the technical stuff aside this it is a super cool development in the messaging world.
Being able to send an iMessage from my Z Fold 3 to my wife’s iPhone is amazing.
The main reason is because I hate hearing “ugh your green again”.
Yes we as Americans and iPhone users in general are shallow and
will shame green bubbles.
However, iPhone users still respond to their friends and family
even if they are a green bubble. So, I honestly don’t understand the big deal.
But that little rant aside that is no longer the case.
Well, that is no longer the case with a couple of asterisks.
No more green bubbles requires a little green
So messaging apps based on the Matrix protocol are generally free.
Now, Beeper is not free and will run you $10 a month for access.
Yes that does sound steep.
However, you have to look at what you get for that $10.
Besides getting a hub for multiple messaging services, you get access
to iMessage on Android, Windows and Linux.
That alone is worth $10 a month.
I’ve always said Apple should bring iMessage to Android and just
charge for it.
I truly believe people would pay a monthly fee to be able to use iMessage
on Android.
So you’re no longer a green bubble when messaging your iPhone toting
friends and family members.
Everything is all good right?
Well, almost.
You will not have all of the benefits of iMessage like you will on an iPhone.
So no iMessage apps like GamePigeon, Image Search, etc.
Of course, this is to be expected.
Hopefully with more updates more and more features will be come available.
How safe is it and how it works
So iMessage is billed as end to end encrypted, private, which means it is super safe. So is Beeper safe to use?
The answer is yes actually.
Firstly, it is Open Source which always makes me feel
warm and fuzzy.
Open Source means you can see exactly what is
in the source code.
That means you can see exactly how all of this works.
No hidden sneaky stuff.
It is also end-to-end encrypted thanks to the Matrix
protocol it is built on top of.
This includes iMessages and other messaging services.
So you don’t have to worry about getting hacked
and having your information stolen.
All in all, Beeper is really cool and makes one dream real.
iMessage on Android.
It works pretty well, and I haven’t had any issues with messages
getting lost or anything.
That goes for iMessage, Slack, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, and Instagram
messages.
These are the connections, which are called bridges, I use personally.
Having to pay $10 a month isn’t idea.
It is true you can self host it all yourself.
However, not everyone will have the setup or patience for that.
So I will gladly pay $10 a month for convenience.
Another down side is it isn’t super easy to gain access
to the service.
Well, I guess it is if you are a patient person.
All you have to do is go to Beeper’s website and
sign up for it.
But then the waiting game begins.
I just got access to the service three weeks ago.
That’s after waiting for months.
At least six months.
Like I was waiting so long that I actually forgot about it.
But, I also signed up when a lot of people were.
So I was on a waiting list with a lot of people ahead of me.
Remember patience is a virtue.
Even though I generally use iPhones, I will be
keeping my subscription for this service active.
I still like to switch over to a solid Android device every now and the.
Keeping the service active will make it easier for me to keep in contact
with my friends and family.
So, for $10 dollars a month I can have iMessage on my Android phone
which is pretty cool.
But, I’m a techie so I have no problem paying the subscription so I can
always have it ready to use.
