C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Amid safety issues, Sunbird has now shut down its iMessage for Android app.
- Sunbird has notified customers it’s pausing utilization for now.
- Sunbird says it is going to examine experiences that messages aren’t end-to-end encrypted.
The Nothing Chats rollout and subsequent takedown from the Google Play Retailer was a debacle Android customers received’t quickly neglect. The truth is, the launch went so poorly that the app that Nothing Chats was constructed on can also be now being shut down.
First reported by 9to5Google, the Sunbird app is being shut down by its creators. The app now not seems within the Google Play Retailer and Sunbird customers have been notified that the corporate has “determined to pause Sunbird utilization for now” because it investigates safety issues.
Sunbird was launched in 2022 and promised to carry iMessage compatibility to Android. It boasted end-to-end encryption and provided iMessage options whereas claiming to not gather customers’ knowledge. Since launch, the app has solely been accessible to those that have signed up for the waitlist.
Final week, Nothing introduced a partnership with Sunbird whereas rolling out the Nothing Chats beta. Nothing Chats was mentioned to be constructed off of Sunbird’s structure, however was designed by the Nothing group. The app was subsequently shut down and brought off the Google Play Retailer in the identical week after a flood of experiences discovered that the software program was woefully insecure and never as non-public as marketed. Nothing has since mentioned it’s delaying the launch of Nothing Chats to work with Sunbird to deal with “a number of bugs.”
Now Sunbird is following go well with and doing the identical with its personal app. The corporate’s final assertion reads as follows:
Good afternoon everybody. We’re investigating the safety points raised within the final 24 hours. In an abundance of warning and to guard your confidential knowledge, we’re shutting down Sunbird media quickly. We’ll hold you posted. Thanks, & honest apologies for the inconvenience.
Since taking down the app, Sunbird has not commented on the scenario. The Texts.com group discovered of their investigation that Sunbird was utilizing HTTP as an alternative of HTTPS, whereas Android developer Dylan Roussel shared that messages aren’t end-to-end encrypted and that Sunbird shops 1000’s of media information on the cloud service Firebase.