Nothing's Chats App Faces Setback: Swift Removal From Google Play Due To Bugs

Within a mere week of its debut, Nothing has swiftly removed its Nothing Chats Beta app from the Google Play Store, citing a delay in the launch until further notice due to multiple bugs plaguing the current version.

For the uninitiated, the app's promise was to enable Nothing Phone 2 users to communicate via iMessage with iPhone users, despite being on the Android platform. To facilitate this, the Nothing Chats app collaborated with Sunbird, requiring users to sign in with their Apple ID to unlock these features.

Revelations made by Kishan Bagaria , founder of Texts.com, unveiled potential security concerns with the Sunbird app. Bagaria pointed out that Sunbird wasn't utilizing HTTP S, stating that "credentials are sent over plaintext HTTP." Additionally, Bagaria highlighted that Sunbird's backend was running an instance of BlueBubbles , which lacked support for end-to-end encryption.

Sunbird, however, responded to Bagaria, refuting the claim of sending credentials over plaintext HTTP. Sunbird clarified, stating, "The HTTP is only used as part of the one-off initial request from the app notifying the back-end of the upcoming iMessage connection iteration that will follow via a standalone communication channel. From the start, Sunbird has been focused on security."

Despite Texts.com's detailed post about the Nothing Chats app, Nothing is yet to issue an official response.

Shortly after the Nothing's Chats app release, Apple made an announcement that it would begin supporting RCS (Rich Communication Services) for enhanced text-based conversations with Android devices. This support includes features like sending high-resolution media files, read receipts, typing indicators, and more. RCS functionality is anticipated to reach iPhones next year, providing Android users with an official alternative to apps like Sunbird. As a result, the use of such third-party apps may no longer be a necessity.