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Nothing last week launched the Nothing Chats messaging platform to break down messaging barriers between Android and iOS devices in partnership with Sunbird. The messaging app Nothing Phone 2 allows users to send and receive texts via iMessage, allowing messages to appear as blue bubbles on iMessage. It also supports texting via the RCS protocol to other Android phones, along with SMS and MMS. However, since its announcement, many users have raised concerns about the service's security and privacy issues. Now, the British startup led by Carl Pay has pulled the beta of its new messaging app from the Google Play Store over privacy concerns.
has nothing pulled out The Nothing Chats beta from the Google Play Store says it's “delaying launch until further notice while working with Sunbird to fix a few bugs.” The company did not specify the flaws or address the privacy concerns.
We have removed the Nothing Chats beta from the Play Store and will postpone the launch until further notice to fix some bugs for working with Sunbird.
We apologize for the delay and will do right by our customers.
– Nothing nothing) November 18, 2023
The removal came after users widely criticized the system for transferring Apple ID credentials over HTTP rather than the more secure HTTPS. Users are required to sign in with an Apple ID through the Nothing Chats app to use iMessage services. This routes access through a Mac located in a remote server farm. Kishan Bagaria, the founder of Texts.com, said on X that he called the app “extremely vulnerable,” arguing that messages sent through Sunbird's system are not fully encrypted and rely on BlueBubbles functionality.
The text team took a quick look at the technology behind the nothing chat and found it to be extremely vulnerable
It doesn't even use HTTPS, credentials are sent over plain text HTTP
The backend is running an instance of BlueBubbles that does not yet support end-to-end encryption pic.twitter.com/IcWyIbKE86
— Kishan Bagaria (@Kishan Bagaria) November 17, 2023
Plus, Dylan Roussel (@evowizz) noted Determine that Sunbird has access to all messages sent and received through the application on your device. All documents (images, videos, audios, PDFs, vCards…) sent via Nothing Chats and Sunbird are public.
Meanwhile, another X user wukko(@uwukko) was published Findings that the Nothing Chats app sends all messages and media attachments to Sentry. Additionally, “all” data is sent and stored through Firebase, and it's also completely unencrypted.
Nothing Chats app is designed for Android to support iMessage. It allowed blue bubble chats from Android phone with iMessage users and also supports RCS (Rich Communication Services) between compatible devices. The app also has features like end-to-end encryption, group messaging, live typing displays, high-definition media sharing, read and delivery receipts, and react-to-react, with more to come in the future.
