Get the Inside Scoop: Sunbird Temporarily Shuts Down Service

Sunbird, the company behind the Sunbird app, has temporarily stopped its service due to security concerns. The company announced this through the app, promising to give updates when it is ready to resume its service.

The Sunbird service allowed Android users to communicate with Apple users through the iMessage protocol. It did so by using an instance of an Apple account on a virtual machine running on a Mac on its servers. Users had to sign in with their Apple ID from within the Sunbird app to start messaging.

Last week, Nothing partnered with Sunbird to include its functionality within the Nothing Chats app, which essentially did the same thing. However, a report released by Texts.com showed that Sunbird was not keeping its promises of end-to-end encryption and not storing data on its database, which could allow potential attackers to access user data.

Following this revelation, Nothing pulled the beta version of its Nothing Chats app from the Google Play Store citing “several bugs”. Sunbird has now decided to suspend its service and remove its app from the Play Store.

It is clear that Sunbird and Nothing have a lot of work to do before they can offer the promised user experience. It is also uncertain if Nothing is still interested in continuing with its Chats app, especially with Apple announcing RCS support for its Messages app.

The future of both Sunbird and Nothing’s messaging services remains uncertain. The companies will need to address the security concerns raised before they can resume their services and win back the trust of their users.

Source: https://9to5google.com/2023/11/21/sunbird-shut-down-android-security-concerns/