Sunbird is temporarily shutting down its iMessage app for Android

Nothing Chats powered by SunBird, which gave iMessage support to Nothing Phone (2) users, but with privacy and security concerns.
Image: Nothing

Sunbird says it’s shutting the messaging app down temporarily to investigate security concerns. Users had concerns regarding the messages not being end-to-end encrypted and Sunbird says that they are investigating into it.

Sunbird emerged in 2022 as a messaging platform aiming to resolve the ongoing debate between blue and green bubbles. Initially, it was exclusively accessible through a waitlist, boasting a range of privacy-centric features such as end-to-end encryption, zero message data collection, and an ad-free experience.

Recently, Sunbird collaborated with Nothing, the brainchild of OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, to introduce Nothing Chats. This messaging service, powered by Sunbird, aimed to enable users of the Phone 2 to send iMessage-like texts. However, it faced a setback when it was swiftly removed from the Google Play Store within a day of its launch.

At that point, Nothing cited the need to address “multiple bugs” within the application. Nevertheless, the app’s removal from the Play Store coincided with a Texts.blog post indicating potential issues with Sunbird’s message encryption. Android developer Dylan Roussel reached comparable findings, revealing that Sunbird stores a considerable volume of media files on Firebase, a cloud service. This implies that while Sunbird asserts it doesn’t retain data on its servers, it seems to be outsourcing this information externally, contradicting its claims.

Sunbird still hasn’t provided any further updates or reasons for the app’s shutdown. However, they have conveyed that they will share information when they are ready to proceed. The app is no longer listed on the Google Play Store and was also unavailable for download last month.