C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Nothing is launching a new messaging app called Nothing Chats on November 17.
- Nothing Chats will bring blue bubbles to the Phone 2 and give those users access to some iMessage features.
- The app may come at the cost of your data security.
Regardless of how ridiculous it is, the blue versus green bubble situation is a real thing here in the US. To solve that problem, Nothing is launching a messaging platform for the Nothing Phone 2 that will bring blue bubbles to Android. But it may come at the cost of your data security.
Today, Nothing announced that it is launching Nothing Chats on November 17. The app will be exclusive to the Phone 2 — and presumably future Nothing phones — and will bring iMessage compatibility to Nothing’s handset, as well as a few iMessage features. These features include:
- Single messaging
- Group chats
- Live typing indicators
- Full-resolution media sharing
- Voice notes
- Read receipts (coming soon)
- Message reactions and replies (coming soon)
The London-based firm says the app is currently in beta and also offers RCS. Those with a Phone 2 in the US, Canada, UK, EU, and other countries in Europe, including Norway and Switzerland, will be able to download the app from the Google Play Store when it launches.
Nothing Chats security concerns
If you’re thinking there’s already an app that can bring iMessage compatibility to Android, you wouldn’t be mistaken. There’s an app called Sunbird that also promises something similar, and Beeper does this as well.
Nothing Chats is actually built on Sunbird’s architecture, but it is designed by Nothing. You could almost call Nothing Chats a skin of the Sunbird app.
To use Nothing Chats, you’ll need to go through the setup to create a Nothing account. Then you’ll need to connect it to your Apple ID, which you can create without having an Apple device. After that’s done, you’re pretty much good to go. But here’s where the security problem begins.
To turn your messages blue, you get a virtual Mac mini assigned to your account. Your texts are then sent through this virtual machine, making it seem like one Apple device to talking to another. Essentially, you’re handing your Apple ID data and password into the hands of a third party, which can jeopardize your data security.
Android Authority has reached out to Nothing about the security concerns this app could pose. A spokesperson for the company replied:
Regarding security, Sunbird doesn’t store any message data/metadata or usernames/passwords, besides the email used to create the Sunbird login. Sunbird’s proprietary technology allows for the passthrough and deletion of data.Whether you choose to sign in with an existing Apple ID or create a new one, your Apple ID data is immediately destroyed during the tokenization process upon logging in so at no point is it vulnerable to bad actors. Sunbird’s server datastreams are fully encrypted, and even if there were to be any intrusion on the datastream, Apple ID data would not be able to be accessed as they’re not stored anywhere at any point and are automatically deleted as part of the tokenization process.
The thought of risking data security may be enough to keep some from wanting to try the app. But for those who aren’t as concerned, you’ll soon be able to connect with your iPhone friends without annoying them.
