Anyone using Beeper (based on Matrix) for multi-channel chat apps?

[marcusquinn]

I'm in. Onboarding process seems pretty well thought out.

[humptydumpty]

Edit: iOS Messages users: If you're having trouble locating the "text message forwarding" option, do the following:

     Q: Though I do have an iPhone, I don't see the Text Message Forwarding option Settings. What should I do?
        A: Make sure that you see your Apple ID email listed under Settings → Messages → Send and Receive. If. you don't see your email, it means that though your phone number is linked to iMessage, you haven't signed in to your Apple ID. You should see the option below the list to sign in.

Source: https://help.beeper.com/text-message-forwarding-iphone

[JLX89]

I've got a few invites, refer.beeper.com/sAqMRo

[jdaviescoates]

I presumably can invite people too next time I'm oon my laptop...

I liked the idea but in practice turns out I quite like different chats being in different apps

[JLX89]

@jdaviescoates Yeah, I agree with you on that -- I had this for a bit and ended up not using it much. I periodically check back and see what's changed and at least consider it again. Also, things going on like the recent situation with Nothing Chats, has me paranoid, effectively putting an app as a MITM.

[humptydumpty]

@JLX89 said in Anyone using Beeper (based on Matrix) for multi-channel chat apps?:

effectively putting an app as a MITM.

Dammit it man. Now you got the tinfoil hat guy in me all worked up.

[JLX89]

@humptydumpty

[RazielKanos]

Well an alternative is Ferdium, basically a Webbrowser that runs all the web apps for you in one app

[marcusquinn]

@RazielKanos There's so many of those electron-type apps. Webcatalog is my preferred for single page web apps.

[humptydumpty]

Edit: no longer offering codes. Account has been deleted.

[RazielKanos]

what annoys me currently is, that i have no way to use my own matrix account, yes? You can only use the one given to you by beeper?

Also i haven't been able to connect to my cloudron matrix rooms via beeper

[JLX89]

@RazielKanos said in Anyone using Beeper (based on Matrix) for multi-channel chat apps?:

what annoys me currently is, that i have no way to use my own matrix account, yes? You can only use the one given to you by beeper?

Also i haven't been able to connect to my cloudron matrix rooms via beeper

You can do this using the desktop app, but I didn't see it on mobile. Try the following:

Settings > Join Matrix Room Then enter #room-name:server-name.tld

[RazielKanos]

yeah, i tried that, but it keeps telling me it can't find the server

[boomboom]

Hi @humptydumpty could you DM me a code please?

[humptydumpty]

@boomboom Did you sign up on the forum and followed me just to request a code?

[necrevistonnezr]

Interesting background info: https://daringfireball.net/2023/12/beeper_i_hardly_knew_her

Beeper is a company founded by Eric Migicovsky, who is best known as the founder of the now-defunct Pebble, which made groundbreaking smartwatches a decade ago. Migicovsky founded Beeper to create a meta-platform for disparate messaging apps — a single messaging client that could connect to dozens of different platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, Twitter DMs, and more. Until this week, Beeper was best known for an app it has now rebranded as Beeper Cloud. Beeper Cloud works as a single client for a slew of different messaging platforms — including iMessage — by way of relay servers. For each Beeper Cloud user, Beeper runs a virtual server in the cloud, and your local Beeper Cloud app communicates with that relay server. For each messaging service you connect to Beeper Cloud, the relay server needs to store your login credentials. You can also self-host your own server, which they describe as “possible, but not an easy task right now”, as it requires Linux system administration skills.

If you’re thinking that running a server instance for each user sounds like something that would be hard to scale, you’re right. Beeper Cloud launched in January 2021, but there remains a (seemingly long) waitlist to get access today, nearly three years later.

If you’re thinking that giving your iCloud account credentials to a third party so that they can sign you into iMessage on a virtual MacOS machine in the cloud sounds like a sketchy idea, you’re correct. It’s a terrible idea.

If you’re thinking that a scheme like this sounds familiar, you’re right — there are a few other “universal chat” services which have also been in the news recently. The best is Texts, a currently-desktop-only $12.50/month app created by Kishan Bagaria, and recently acquired by Automattic (the parent company of WordPress.com, Tumblr, and Day One, among numerous other apps and services). Texts directly communicates with the protocols for services like WhatsApp and Twitter DMs, but for iMessage — which of course has no open APIs for third-party clients — communicates via AppleScript and accessibility APIs with Apple’s Messages app running on your own Mac.

[yayimalive]

@humptydumpty Hi there, I'd love a dm code if still available please. Thanks for offering!

[girish]

Guys, please this is not a place to request Beeper codes I thought Apple blocked beeper in any case?

[necrevistonnezr]

Yes, they did. The author is merely suggesting that handing over your credentials is a non-smart idea, in any event.

[JLX89]

@necrevistonnezr It's actually interesting, I ran a few tests and they're using virtual macOS environments for anything Apple, and a few different variations for other services. Interestingly enough, when I ran the tests they were all located in Helsinki Finland.