Apple shuts down android apps enabling iMessage over security concerns

Apple Inc. on Saturday said it shut down third-party applications that enabled Android devices to use the iMessage service to communicate with iPhone users.

The iPhone maker said in a statement it “took steps to protect our users by blocking techniques that exploit fake credentials in order to gain access to iMessage.”

It added that “these techniques posed significant risks to user security and privacy, including the potential for metadata exposure and enabling unwanted messages, spam, and phishing attacks.”

The company said it would continue to make changes in the future to protect its users. The announcement comes a day after Beeper Mini, the latest app to enable iMessage on Android devices, stopped working. Apple’s iMessage offers encrypted messaging between iPhones, Macs, iPads and other devices made by the company, and it has resisted calls for nearly a decade to expand the service to Android.