Sunbird, the company behind popular Nothing Chats, has removed its iMessage app for Android from the Google Play Store. According to a 9to5google report, this decision comes amid growing scrutiny over the app’s security practices.
The app, introduced in late 2022, gained attention for its partnership with Nothing for the “Nothing Chats” app, promising iMessage on the Nothing Phone (2). However, within a day, privacy issues emerged, as end-to-end encryption for user messages and files failed to meet expectations.
According to the 9to5google report, Nothing Chats, allegedly stored data on Firebase, making over 630,000 files accessible. Nothing responded by blocking downloads and notifying users of the app’s pause in usage. Subsequently, Sunbird decided to halt not just Nothing’s app but also its own services, citing security concerns.
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Sunbird users received notifications explaining the temporary pause, stating the company is investigating the security issues raised. Initially, Sunbird had announced a temporary shutdown of media sharing, but it eventually suspended the entire app.
Prior to shutting down the app, Sunbird sent a notification to users informing that it would only shut down the media sharing on Sunbird.
“Good afternoon everyone. We are investigating the security issues raised in the last 24 hours. In an abundance of caution and to protect your confidential data, we are shutting down Sunbird media temporarily. We will keep you posted. Thank you, & sincere apologies for the inconvenience,” the news report quotes the message from Sunbird.
Despite the shutdown, Sunbird has not issued a public statement, and its website still mentions end-to-end encryption and data non-storage. For now, the app is unavailable on the Play Store, raising questions about its future.
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