Sunbird, the popular app that lets Android users use iMessage, is back on the Google Play Store, three years after it was removed for security reasons. The Android app was first released in 2022, allowing Android users to communicate with iPhone users via iMessage. However, the app and the Nothing Chats app that was built on it were temporarily shut down in 2023 due to major privacy concerns. Reports from a security researcher and 9to5Google claimed that the apps did not offer the promised end-to-end encryption, allowing access to user data, including messages, files and personal data, in plain text.
Three years later, the Sunbird app was relaunched, with Sunbird Messaging claiming to have strengthened the app’s security following previous concerns. The app is available for download from the Google Play Store, with a 14-day free trial available to new Sunbird users. After the trial, a subscription is required which costs $2.99 per month or $24.99 per year. According to a press release announcing the relaunch, more than 181,000 people had signed up for Sunbird Early Access ahead of the launch. Below we detail what the Sunbird app does and the new security measures in place.
What is Sunbird?
Sunbird is an Android unified messaging app that combines multiple messaging services, including iMessage, Rich Communications Services (RCS), and SMS, into a single inbox. When sending messages to iOS devices via Sunbird’s iMessage feature, Android users receive a blue bubble, rather than the usual green RCS or SMS bubble, allowing them to have the same messaging experience as iPhone and Mac users. As a result, Sunbird users can more seamlessly participate in iMessage conversations with Apple users and have access to all iMessage features through Sunbird, including text effects, live stickers, message effects, text formatting, and more.
In 2022, when Sunbird first launched, messages between iOS and Android users were sent as SMS or MMS by default, meaning Android users could not use iMessage or participate in iMessage group chats. However, this changed in 2024 – after Sunbird was removed from the Play Store – when Apple began supporting RCS messaging between Android and iOS users. This change gave the former access to features previously reserved for iMessage, such as keystroke indicators, read receipts, and high-resolution media.
Does this mean Sunbird is no longer relevant in 2026? Although some Android users think so, this is not necessarily the case. RCS gives Android users access to several features available in iMessage, but it does not give them all of iMessage’s features. Android users still can’t use the message effects and inline text formatting features available through iMessage. Additionally, some Android users have reported experiencing compatibility issues when using RCS to send messages to an iOS device, including issues with group chat messages, emojis, and sending videos.
Sunbird Security Improvements
TANYARICO/Shutterstock
Sunbird’s return was met with skepticism by some users online, given the app’s previous shutdown due to major privacy concerns. In the press release announcing the relaunch of the app, Sunbird Messaging discussed its improved approach to security and privacy. “Your messages are encrypted on your device and in transit, and Sunbird does not store them; they only pass through as long as they are delivered,” he explains. “When you send a message to an iPhone, Apple’s iMessage encryption performs that final step, just like it always has.” According to Sunbird, the underlying technology is protected by two issued U.S. patents.
Speaking to Android Authority, Danny Mizrahi, CEO of Sunbird Messaging, further explained that this means the app doesn’t store your messages off-device. “Conversation history resides on the user’s device and the recipient’s device, not on our servers,” Mizrahi told the publication. “A message passing through our infrastructure is protected during transit and released once delivered.” This means that messages are encrypted on the phone before leaving it, in transit and at rest on the device with AES-256, an advanced encryption standard.
According to Mizrahi, when an iMessage is sent to an iPhone, it is protected by Apple’s iMessage end-to-end encryption, which Sunbird does not modify. While a user’s Apple ID password is used to set up an iMessage session, Mizrahi says it is only used once and then destroyed. Additionally, media is automatically deleted from Sunbird’s servers within 72 hours.
