After Sunbird shut down its iMessage app for Android due to security issues, the company says the app is now available in beta, as this is “the culmination of comprehensive improvements to Sunbird’s back-end infrastructure after an exhaustive evaluation, a process detailed in a recent update to its website companies.”
There, the company explained the app’s numerous flaws, which culminated in the leak of user data. The developers said they were able to restore the apps in just a few weeks. However, they decided to wait longer and fix these flaws to “reflect our commitment not only to addressing current issues, but also to ensuring that we support the highest standards of security and privacy for our community over the long term.”
In doing so, they named several technical changes they made to Sunbird’s iMessage architecture, including RCS and a more secure architecture. But when it becomes available, should you use it? Probably not.
Sunbird may have solved its problems, but do we need an iMessage app for Android now?
Since Sunbird has been shut down and is now about to be turned on again, Apple has committed to adopting the RCS format. Although some exclusive iMessage features will continue to be there for iPhone users, this means that iPhone and Android users will have no problem when messaging each other, such as sending files, high-quality images, GIFs or even creating groups.
With RCS support coming later this year and Sunbird still waiting a few months for a full release, I think the app has wasted its time, even though it may have fixed its security issues.
After all, if people wanted to improve their messaging capabilities with other operating systems, they would use WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. By choosing built-in SMS over other apps, I believe Apple’s adoption of the RCS standard will be more than enough to simplify people’s lives.
If you want an iMessage app for Android, you should use an iPhone instead. If you want to send messages properly to your friends and family, you can use WhatsApp or in the near future you will be able to send messages using the RCS standard.
You can learn more about the Sunbird changes here.