Nothing, the technology company known for its innovative products, has recently announced that their new messaging app, Nothing Chats, has been removed from the Google app store in order to fix several bugs related to Sunbird technology. The app was presented just a week ago as an ‘app’ with the capability to send and receive messages via iMessage on an Android device, all thanks to the Sunbird technology.
However, only a day after its release, Nothing shared that the beta version of the messaging app has been removed from the Play Store in order to work with Sunbird to “fix several bugs”. The launch has been delayed “until further notice,” as detailed by the manufacturer in a post in which they also asked for forgiveness for the delay and assured that they would continue working to do “the right thing for users.”
The removal of Nothing Chats from the Google app store raises concerns about security and privacy. Some users and cybersecurity experts have warned about Nothing Chats’ lack of encryption in messages sent through the app. The architecture of Sunbird’s technology uses a system to send messages to other users “without storing them at any point in their journey,” so messages are only stored on the device. However, after analyzing the application, some users and experts have claimed that Sunbird’s technology does not encrypt messages end-to-end.
For example, developer Dylan Roussel has criticized Sunbird, saying they have access to all messages sent and received through the app, and that all documents sent are “public”. This is because Sunbird decrypts messages sent by users and sends them to a cloud server over an insecure connection, and stores it in an unencrypted format. Roussel has even warned that if a cybercriminal manages to register and access the database, they could also have access to all the messages and files sent by the users.
Nothing has yet released any details about when Nothing Chats will be available again on Google Play Store or what measures they are taking to address security concerns raised by users and experts. However, it is clear that these issues have caused significant delays in launching this innovative messaging app. It remains to be seen whether Nothing can address these concerns before releasing Nothing Chats again on Google Play Store or whether it may face further challenges due to these issues raised around its technology.