MANILA, Philippines – UK-based phone maker Nothing on Tuesday, November 14, announced that it is launching a new Nothing Chats app, which lets users communicate with iMessage users on iPhone. 

Nothing says it is the first mobile company to “offer a solution to one of the biggest frustrations between Android and iOS users.” While users can freely send messages between iOS and Android using other apps, the iPhone’s native iMessage app is platform-exclusive. 

Nothing Chats is powered by the messaging platform Sunbird, which in April 2023, had a waitlist that reached 100,000 users. 

Nothing explained to The Verge how the system works. Users’ iCloud credentials are stored on Sunbird’s “encrypted database,” which is then linked to its Mac Minis in the US or Europe acting as a relay server. The user’s message is routed through Sunbird, and then relayed to the recipient iMessage user. 

The routing information is important to know as users would need to decide whether they would trust Sunbird in handling their data, and their privacy policy. Sunbird told The Verge that account information is deleted after two weeks of inactivity. 

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Nothing, in its announcement, also said “Messages are not stored on Sunbird’s servers and are only live on your device – once a message is delivered, it can only be recovered locally from your personal device.”

Nothing Phone 2 users in the US, EU, Canada, or UK can download the app on Play Store, log-in with their Apple ID username, and start messaging. Nothing says that the app, and Sunbird have end-to-end messaging encryption, meaning Nothing or Sunbird can read the messages being sent to and fro. 

The Verge, citing the Washington Post, noted what features work such as showing when you’re typing, and what doesn’t yet such as editing messages. Nothing has said that it is working on bringing in more features. 

“We believe in windows, not walls. If messaging services are dividing phone users, then we want to break those barriers down,” Nothing said. 

The Nothing Phone, the first version of which was launched in 2022, became popular for its transparent back design, and was noted for its price, performance, and camera. – Rappler.com