Beeper app combines iMessage, WhatsApp, more chat apps in one place, here's how it works

Beeper is a new app that brings all your messaging apps including WhatsApp, Instagram, Signal, Twitter, Telegram, and iMessage among others together into a unified inbox. Created by the founder of Pebble smartwatches, Eric Migicovsky, Beeper is an effort to brings all your messaging apps into a single place. What's more, it is available on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android.

"New app alert: I've been working on Beeper for a while and today we're launching! It's a single app to chat on iMessage, WhatsApp, and 13 other networks. Been using it as my default chat client for the last 2 years and there is NO going back. Check it out beeperhq.com," he tweeted.

New app alert: I've been working on Beeper for a while and today we're launching! It's a single app to chat on iMessage, WhatsApp, and 13 other networks. Been using it as my default chat client for the last 2 years and there is NO going back. Check it out https://t.co/vjAtnYvdhS pic.twitter.com/rJ39rPFixb

— Eric Migicovsky (@ericmigi) January 20, 2021

The app acts as a central hub for 15 major messaging apps or services and works on a monthly payment basis, where users need to pay USD 10 (Rs 730 approx) per month in order to keep all their messaging apps in one place.

For those wondering how Beeper will get iMessage to work on Android, the company itself admitted that it "was a tough one to figure out", but it looks like it has found a workaround. "And yes, iMessage works even on Android, Windows and Linux using some trickery," tweeted Migicovsky.

All about the 'trickery'

The company will be sending each user a jailbroken iPhone with the Beeper app installed which bridges to iPhone. This is apparently not a joke – Migicovsky shared a picture on Twitter of what appears to be old jailbroken iPhones. In response to a tweet, he said "Yes! That is EXACTLY what we're doing. I have 50 iPhone 4s sitting here at my desk."

Yes! That is EXACTLY what we're doing. I have 50 iPhone 4s sitting here at my desk.

— Eric Migicovsky (@ericmigi) January 20, 2021

However, if you have a Mac that's always connected to the Internet, you just need to install the Beeper Mac app that will act as a bridge.

How will Beeper work?

Beeper was previously known as NovaChat it works on all platforms including Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android. 

Messages are connected to the app using Matrix, which is an open-source federated messaging protocol and acts as a bridge for each messaging client.

The 15 major messaging apps that Beeper includes currently are WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Slack, Messenger, SMS, Discord, Skype, IRC, Twitter DMs, Apple iMessage, and Google Hangouts. 

Each of these apps feeds their messages into a single location and users can respond to messages on all these apps from within Beeper itself.

One can search for chats from other chat networks on a single platform and even snooze, archive, and set reminders.

Apart from the 15 apps that it already integrates, Beeper said it is adding a new network every few weeks. And the next feature that is coming to Beeper is the Dark Mode. As of now, users will need to sign up for Beeper to use its services.