Nothing has pulled the beta version of its new messaging app Nothing Chats from the Play Store just a day after its release, saying it is delaying the launch until further notice. The company introduced Sunbird-based Nothing Chats as a solution to the long-standing Android – Apple messaging problem and aimed to fill the gap with support for both RCS and iMessage. But since its announcement, a growing number of critics have raised concerns about the risks posed by such workarounds, arguing that Nothing Chats is an inherently less secure messaging option.
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 apologise for the delay and will do right by our users.
— Nothing (@nothing) November 18, 2023
In a review of the app, 9to5google pointed out that Nothing Chats lacks end-to-end encryption and found that attachments sent by other users can easily be accessed in plain text. The findings also reinforced concerns raised by others that Sunbird was using HTTP instead of HTTPS. Additionally, Texts.com founder Kishan Bagaria called Sunbird “extremely insecure.”
While Nothing didn’t directly address privacy issues in