iMessage

Apple's Messages app offers one of the most convenient ways of having a text-based conversation with your contacts on iPhone and iPad, but messages aren't the only things you can send and receive. Apple's iMessage service enables all manner of files and attachments to be shared, such as photos, links, documents, audio messages, and more. Files that are sent to you can of course be accessed...

With iOS 17, Apple brought some headline features to iPhones, like StandBy Mode and NameDrop, but Apple also introduced some smaller quality-of-life improvements that are well worth familiarizing yourself with. Inline replies in the Messages app is one of them. If you use WhatsApp, you're probably aware of the quick reply feature that the platform has had for several years. To reply to an...

In the Messages app on iPhone and iPad, Apple includes a bunch of screen effects that add fireworks, confetti, and more to the whole screen when you send an iMessage to someone. Because it's not obvious how to access these iMessage screen effects, they're often overlooked, which is a shame because they can surprise recipients, make them smile, or even laugh out loud – if you use the right...

In iOS 16, Apple has added some major updates to the Messages app, introducing some features that rival third-party messaging platforms have had for years. One of these changes is the ability to edit iMessages in iOS 16. Keep reading to learn how it works. Almost everyone with a smartphone can relate to the situation where you send a text message only to immediately realize that the meaning...

In iOS 16, Apple has added some major updates to the Messages app, introducing some features that rival third-party messaging platforms have had for years. One of these changes is the ability to unsend sent iMessages in iOS 16. Keep reading to learn how it works. Have you ever sent a text message only to immediately wish that you hadn't? In previous versions of iOS, if you sent a message...

This article explains how to create polls in group chats on Apple's Messages app for iPhone and iPad. Keep reading to learn how it works. If you often participate in group chats over iMessage, you'll know how hard it can sometimes be to decide on something or make plans when there's a lot of people in the group. Other messaging apps like Telegram – and soon WhatsApp – get around the...

The Messages app in macOS offers users a convenient way of communicating with friends, family, and colleagues across a variety of Apple devices. With Messages for Mac, you can send unlimited messages to any Mac, iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch that uses iMessage, Apple's secure-messaging service. If you have an iPhone, you can also send and receive SMS texts. The following steps show you how ...

In iOS 10, Apple introduced the Messages App Store, allowing users to jump into miniature versions of their favorite apps so they could do things like choose a movie time, send their location, pay a friend, give a recommendation from Apple Music, and attach stickers. With the launch of iOS 11, the app drawer and selection experience of Messages apps have been streamlined, and this guide will walk ...

One of the main focal points of the Apple Watch is communication, and as such, it offers a Messages app much like the one on the iPhone. It's not quite as robust as the Messages apps available on other iOS and Mac devices, but Messages on Apple Watch lets you send pre-made replies, animated and non-animated emoji, and full voice-to-text messages. For those of you who want to learn the ins and ...

iMessage and FaceTime are acting up for some users, according to Apple's system status page. Some users are "experiencing a problem" with iMessage and FaceTime, the page says. Apple says it is "investigating" and will provide a status update when possible. The issues began shortly after 5 a.m. Pacific Time, according to Apple. At this time, there does not appear to be a widespread...

Apple today announced a new post-quantum cryptographic protocol for iMessage called PQ3. Apple says this "groundbreaking" and "state-of-the-art" protocol provides "extensive defenses against even highly sophisticated quantum attacks." Apple believes the PQ3 protocol's protections "surpass those in all other widely deployed messaging apps," according to its blog post:Today we are announcing...

Apple's iMessage will avoid regulation requiring interoperability with other messaging platforms under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), following the conclusion of an investigation by the regulator (via Bloomberg). The probe concluded that the iMessage platform and Microsoft's Bing do not hold a dominant enough position to be brought under the DMA's strict rules for services provided by...

Apple on Tuesday released the first visionOS 1.1 beta. Along with improved Personas, the update adds iMessage Contact Key Verification to the Vision Pro. iMessage Contact Key Verification is an optional security feature that allows you to manually verify who you are messaging with by comparing verification codes in person or on a phone call. The feature launched on the iPhone, iPad, Apple...

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are intensifying their investigations into Apple's alleged anti-competitive practices following the recent blocking of the iMessage for Android app Beeper Mini, the New York Times reports. Following calls from a bipartisan group of senators for a DOJ investigation into the matter, Beeper founder Eric Migicovsky...

As we shared this morning, the team behind the Beeper Mini iMessage for Android app has announced a plan that will let Android customers use a jailbroken iPhone to register a phone number with iMessage in order to get the Beeper Mini service working. Just days after Beeper Mini launched on December 5, Apple objected to the way it was using iMessage servers with "fake credentials," and blocked...

The developers of Beeper Mini, the iMessage for Android app, are back with another attempt to keep Apple's blue bubbles onside, and this time they will ask users to generate their iMessage registration data with the help of jailbroken iPhones, MacRumors has learned. Beeper Mini operates by identifying text message conversations from iMessage users and converting them to the recognizable blue ...

iMessage for Android app Beeper Mini is once again having connectivity issues, which it has attributed to Apple. Last night, Beeper Mini stopped working for some people, and the company confirmed that Apple was "deliberately blocking iMessages from being delivered" to approximately five percent of Beeper Mini users. At the time, Beeper Mini said that uninstalling and reinstalling Beeper Mini ...

After Apple shut down the mechanism that Android app Beeper Mini was using to bring iMessage to Android users, Beeper Mini's developers today said that they have found a way to bring the app back, albeit with some major changes. The new version of the app requires users to sign in with an Apple ID, which was not needed with the prior version. All iMessages are also now sent and received...

Apple today confirmed that it took steps to shut down the functionality of Beeper Mini, an app that enabled Android users to send and receive iMessages. Apple emphasized its commitment to user privacy and security, explaining that the move was necessitated by the potential risks Beeper Mini's techniques posed, including metadata exposure and susceptibility to spam and phishing attacks....

Apple's iMessage chat service may dodge EU regulatory demands for platform interoperability after all. Bloomberg reports that an investigation by the bloc's antitrust watchdog has tentatively concluded that the chat service is not popular enough with business users to warrant being subject to the new rules. The EU has been working on legislation under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that would ...

Beeper Mini, a new app that ostensibly brings iMessage to Android devices with no need for sign-in with Apple ID credentials, today launched on the Google Play Store. Beeper Mini operates by identifying text message conversations from iMessage users and converting them to the recognizable blue bubbles associated with Apple's exclusive messaging service. This enables Android users to interact ...

Sunbird, an app that is designed to deliver iMessages to Android devices, has been temporarily shut down due to security concerns. Sunbird this week sent out a notification to users letting them know about the shutdown (via 9to5Google). Sunbird said that it was investigating security issues that had been raised by the Nothing Chats iMessage app, and shortly after, told users that Sunbird...

Google and European telecom groups have urged EU regulators to designate iMessage a "core" service that would force Apple to make the communications platform interoperable with competing chat services, reports the Financial Times. In a letter sent to the European Commission, the EU's executive body, the signatories including Google and some of Europe's largest telecoms operators claimed that ...

EU antitrust regulators have asked Apple's users and rivals to rate the importance of Apple's iMessage and Microsoft's Bing versus competing services, reports Reuters. According to people familiar with the matter, the European Commission sent out the questionnaires earlier this month, asking if there was anything specific to iMessage and Microsoft's Bing, Edge, and Microsoft Advertising that ...

Apple argues that iMessage is not sufficiently popular to be classified as a "gatekeeper" under EU law, the Financial Times reports. The discussion comes ahead of the publication of the first list of services to be regulated by the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The legislation introduces new rules that apply to tech giants that meet its "gatekeeper" criteria and force them to open up their...

Microsoft today announced it has completed its rollout of iPhone support for its Phone Link app on Windows 11, as spotted by The Verge. With the Phone Link app for Windows 11 and the Link to Windows app for iOS, iPhone users can make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, and view notifications directly on their PC. Notably, this means Windows 11 technically supports...

Microsoft today announced it is beginning to roll out iPhone support to the Phone Link app on Windows 11. In a blog post, the company said this functionality will be available to all Windows 11 users around the world by mid-May. With the Phone Link app for Windows 11 and the Link to Windows app for iOS, iPhone users can make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, and view...

Microsoft today announced that it is adding iPhone support to its Phone Link app on Windows 11. The app allows iPhone users to make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, and view an iPhone's notifications directly on a PC. Notably, the app brings limited iMessage functionality to Windows. After pairing an iPhone with a PC via Bluetooth and granting some permissions on the...

Apple will be forced to allow users to utilize third-party app stores and payment systems, as well as make iMessage interoperable with other messaging services, by the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), according to a newly published document from the European Commission. In a questions and answers document on the Digital Markets Act titled "ensuring fair and open digital markets,"...