Communications of the ACM

In the latest chapter of blue bubbles versus green bubbles, Apple has blocked access to iMessage from credentials masquerading as Apple to protect its customers, the company told CNET on Saturday evening. This comes after companies like Beeper and Nothing released Android apps that provided a workaround.

The iPhone maker said that it can't verify messages sent via unauthorized means that were posing as valid Apple credentials. Messages sent over iMessage have end-to-end encryption to ensure that no one but the sender and recipient has access. Apple said it blocked these "fake credentials" to protect its customers.

The move comes less than a week after Beeper reversed-engineered iMessage access so people using Android or Windows could use the service and send iMessages from non-Apple devices. Messages sent to an iPhone owner that would normally show up as green bubbles from an Android user over SMS showed up as blue if sent from the Beeper Mini Android app or Beeper Cloud, the original version of the service that routed iMessage through a Mac.