[layer8]

You could make a somewhat similar argument about an email provider sending emails to iCloud email addresses, thus “piggybacking” off Apple’s iCloud servers. Granted, Beeper probably doesn’t prevent it being used between two Android users, but the primary function, and why people would pay for it, is to communicate with Apple users.

The primary difference is that in one case it’s a closed proprietary protocol and in the other an open protocol. But who pays for what is not the main concern. Apple would still disagree even if Beeper would be willing to share an appropriate part of their revenue.

[alistairSH]

But the user with the iCloud address is (probably) an Apple customer.

Similarly, with plain SMS, the cellular provider owns (some of) the infrastructure, but the user is a customer.

With Beeper, the customer is paying Beeper, but Beeper is using Apple's infrastructure (without paying for it).

[layer8]

I don’t understand your point. The user with iMessage that the Android user wants to communicate with is an Apple customer as well, and arguably pays Apple to be reachable via iMessage. And in the iCloud Mail example, the non-Apple user who is sending an email to the iCloud user also is not an Apple customer and doesn’t pay for Apple’s iCloud Mail infrastructure.

[alistairSH]

I was thinking two non-Apple users could use the iMessage protocol through Beeper. Maybe that's not possible?

[layer8]

I had addressed that aspect in my original comment (“Granted, …”).

[riscy]

> You could make a somewhat similar argument about an email provider sending emails to iCloud email addresses

No. They don't work the same way. Your email provider has to maintain a mail server to send and receive emails on your behalf. Your email client connects to that email server to do all its work. Beeper Mini directly connects to Apple's Push Notifications servers to do all send/receive.

People arguing for an open iMessage system like email are completely forgetting how much spam and bad actors have ruined the openness of email. It use to be the case that you could run your own email server, but due to spam, many major email providers like Gmail will reject emails from untrusted IP addresses, for example.

[tadfisher]

Why does the Messages app have a "report spam" button, if it's free from spam and bad actors?

[riscy]

I never said the Messages app was free from spam or bad actors, only you did.

SMS and iMessage spam that is handled by the Messages app are considerably less of a problem precisely because they’re less open protocols. They’re not at all comparable; the vast, vast majority of email is spam.

[pxmpxm]

SMS?