Nothing has unexpectedly removed the beta version of its newly released messaging app, Nothing Chats, from the Play Store and announced that the launch will be postponed indefinitely. The company had high hopes for Nothing Chats as a promising solution to the age-old dilemma of text messaging between Android and Apple users, offering support for both RCS and iMessage. However, criticism has been mounting over the inherent security risks posed by this messaging platform.
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 apologize for the delay and will do right by our users.
— Nothing (@nothing) November 18, 2023
A thorough analysis of the app by 9to5google revealed that Nothing Chats lacks end-to-end encryption, making attachments sent by other users easily accessible in plain text. These findings raised additional concerns regarding Sunbird’s use of HTTP instead of HTTPS. Kishan Bagaria, founder of Texts.com, raised alarm over the security vulnerabilities, stating that “all outgoing texts are being leaked to a sentry server in plaintext.”
On X, Nothing did not directly address the privacy concerns but assured users that they are working with Sunbird to rectify bugs and prioritize user security. The public announcement of Nothing Chats was made on November 14, and the beta version was launched on Friday.
