Summary

  • Sunbird relaunches its messaging app in beta with AV2 encryption protocol for enhanced message security and privacy.
  • The company promises improved security measures and organizational changes for a safer messaging experience.
  • It temporarily pulled the plug on its messaging app late last year due to security issues, such as lack of encryption for internal processes.



A bunch of messaging apps tried to link iOS and Android messaging, but Nothing (the phone company) came the closest with its Sunbird partnership. The London-based company joined forces with Sunbird to create Nothing Chats, a messaging service mirroring iMessage support. It’s like chatting with an iPhone user on Android—complete with messages, group chats, high-quality images, and voice notes. However, it was later discovered that the app wasn’t encrypting Apple login credentials when sending them out. This prompted Sunbird to pause its app on the Play Store last November due to security worries. Now, the company is re-launching the iMessage-for-Android app.


Sunbird announced in a press release the relaunch of its beta app with some major backend upgrades. The company said over 165,000 users have signed up for the waitlist, and invites are rolling out in small waves. Plus, this new version comes with loads of fixes, tweaks, and upgrades from the first round.

The company has revamped its earlier AV1 iMessage setup into something even better: AV2. This new system is intended to keep your messages safe by using a special program (MQTTS) to handle messages securely, kind of like an encrypted tunnel. As per Sunbird, once your message is decrypted and sent to the iMessage or RCS/Google Messages Network, it’s only stored in memory briefly, keeping your chats secure.

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Related

Nothing pulls its iMessage app from the Play Store following privacy disaster

Nothing Chats’ security protocols were seemingly non-existent

Sunbird made its debut in 2022 with the goal of bringing iMessage to Android. However, it started small, with a private beta and waitlist for a lucky few. Even though it never went mainstream, it did broaden its horizons by teaming up with Nothing for Nothing Chats. Unfortunately, there was a major hitch: anyone could see your messages as they weren’t encrypted.



Sunbird is promising a secure messaging experience this time

With Sunbird’s return, the company is making big promises for a safe and streamlined messaging setup. It owned up to past security slip-ups and shot down any ties to “BlueBubblesApp” in its system. After the mess from last year, the service said it took a step back to really dig into its technical setups and how things are run internally.

Alongside the technical changes, Sunbird is shaking things up organizationally too. It has brought in CIPHER, an independent security consultancy, for an extra layer of protection. Plus, it appointed Jared Jordan, a former engineering director of Google’s Gmail team, as an advisor.