Apple’s iMessage is now available for users of Google’s Android OS, having appeared recently in a free third-party application called iMessage Chat.
After going hands-on with the app, we can confirm that it works as advertised; however, users are nevertheless advised to avoid signing in to the service with their own Apple ID, since the application could be collecting usernames and passwords for nefarious purposes.
Such is the opinion of numerous voices in the iOS community. Steven Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith), for example, notes on Twitter that the application has the ability to install malware on smartphones without the user knowing, while Cydia creator Jay Freeman (@saurik) explains in a Google+ post that iMessages Chat for Android processes data from the application at the developer’s server in China.
As such, message content – including images and videos – could easily be stored by the developer.
If you’re looking to test out iMessages Chat for Android, be sure to use a fake Apple ID, as in our hands-on video. Though the service indeed works, this application is risky business, and using a credit card-equipped Apple ID with the app could ultimately prove disastrous.
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