Nothing has announced the launch of the Nothing Chats app, which lets Android users send iMessage to users with iPhones. Starting Friday, an early version of the Nothing Chats app will be available to Nothing Phone (2) users in select markets. The app has been developed in partnership with American tech company Sunbird, and the company says that the chats will be encrypted end-to-end.
This is arguably one of the first Android apps that allows its users to send iMessage to users of an iOS device. This means that chats sent via Nothing Chats will appear in a blue bubble on iPhone, iPad, or any other iOS device. We explain what Nothing Chats is and how will it work.
Nothing Chats: What Is It And How It Works?
Nothing Chats is a new messaging app by London-based technology company Nothing. It allows Android users to send iMessage to iOS users. To give a perspective, all messages that are received from an Android device appear in a green bubble on an iOS device, while those received from an iOS device are shown in blue bubbles. However, the messages sent via Nothing Chats to an iOS device will appear in blue bubbles on the latter.
“Those green messaging bubbles can feel like a barrier between you and other smartphone users. But we've found the solution. Nothing Chats is a first-of-its-kind app developed in partnership with Sunbird, which allows you to message other iMessage users via blue bubbles on your Nothing Phone,” a post on Nothing’s community page read.
The company added that a beta version of the app will be available for Nothing Phone (2) from November 17. As of now, only users in the US, Canada, UK or EU can download the app via the Play Store. However, the company has confirmed that Nothing Chats will be available in more places in the coming days. Do keep in mind that it is only available for Nothing Phone (2) as of now.
After downloading the app, users can sign in with their Apple ID or create a new account to send and receive messages via the Nothing Chats app. The company has assured that the chats on the app are end-to-end encrypted and that messages are not stored on Sunbird’s server. However, the company does retain email addresses of users of Sunbird accounts for as long as users are active. The data is deleted after two weeks of the user getting inactive.
Given the app is in the beta phase and is being developed, more functionalities could be added in the future. As of now, Nothing Chats brings the ability to share uncompressed media, just like iMessage. However, the company also plans to add the read receipts feature and the ability to respond with reactions as well.
It is unclear at this point whether the Nothing Chats app will be available for the original Phone 1 as well or when it will be available in other markets globally.
