Apple blocks Android users from signing into iMessage on Mac

Beeper Mini customers used their Mac computer to connect to iPhone Mail on their Android phone. Now they say Apple blocked the email service on their Macs.

When Apple blocked the Beeper Mini app last month from giving users Android access to the tech giant's messaging service, Beeper has encouraged its customers to instead use their Mac computers to log in and continue sending messages.

But in recent days, dozens of Beeper customers have reported that they no longer have access to Apple services. messaging service on their Android phones or Mac computers. Several called Apple customer support and were informed that the company had revoked their Mac's access to iMessage due to irregular activity. None had been warned that they would lose service.

For Beeper customers, many of whom prefer Android devices to iPhones but prefer Mac computers to PCs, the Apple's decision simply shows how far the company will go to maintain control of its services. In these cases, Apple removed one of the services it provided with its computers because it objected to the way its customers used it.

"Legally, they're probably in the clear because of their terms of service, but it's still kind of shitty," said Matvei Vevitsis, who noticed this month that he could no longer send of iMessages to his mother via her 12-inch MacBook.

Apple declined to comment. After The New York Times contacted Apple, some Beeper customers began reporting that they had been unblocked in recent days.

This move is the latest of a match between Apple and Beeper that caught the attention of antitrust regulators. Last year, the Justice Department met with Beeper's management team about Apple's actions, and the Federal Trade Commission said in a blog post that it would take a close look at "dominant" players who " use privacy and security as justification to prohibit interoperability” between services. p>

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