Nothing removes Chats App from Play Store over major privacy issues
The recently introduced Nothing Chats app has now been removed from Google Play Store over some major security concerns.
Carl Pei owned Nothing recently announced the inclusion of Apple’s iMessage ability with the ‘Nothing Chats’ app. However, the Nothing Chats app has now been removed from Google Play Store over some major security concerns.
The company shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) and revealed that it has removed its Nothing Chats beta app from the Play Store. The launch will be delayed until further notice.
The post reads, ” We’ve removed the Nothing Chats beta from the Play Store and will be delaying the launch until further notice to work with Sunbird to fix several bugs. We apologise for the delay and will do right by our users.”
We’ve removed the Nothing Chats beta from the Play Store and will be delaying the launch until further notice to work with Sunbird to fix several bugs.
We apologise for the delay and will do right by our users.
— Nothing (@nothing) November 18, 2023
Nothing has also added that it will work with Sunbird to fix several bugs. The company partnered with Sunbird to built the technology that enabled iMessage functionality in Nothing chats app.
Nothing also added that it will ‘do right by our users‘, so there is hope that the company has plans to work on these issues. But what are these issues and should you be worried? Let’s look into it.
Privacy & Security Concerns in Nothing Chats App
According to some Android app developers and security researchers, the Nothing Chats app is not end-to-end encrypted. They said that the app is not secure at all as all the information such as contact information, message contents, and even attachment data, can all be hacked into.
One developer called Dylan Roussel said that the user data which is sent through Sunbird’s technology over HTTP, remains insecure during transit. Furthermore, it has been revealed that Sunbird can read all your messages and see the media you share with actual iMessage users using the Nothing Chats app.
However, Nothing and Sunbird had claimed that the iMessage emulating Chats app has ‘end-to-end encryption‘.
The team that developed WordPress & Tumblr has also revealed three major issues: Data in transit vulnerability, Data at rest vulnerability, and Insider Threat / Data Exposure in Sunbird/Nothing Chats Security.
Ms Kalinga