Sunbird, the messaging app for Android, just pulled the plug because everyone got super freaked out about privacy. It went downhill real quick after teaming up with Nothing for the Nothing Chats app. Fun fact: Nothing Chats only lasted a day before privacy problems forced it to take a time-out.
Guess what? You won’t find Sunbird on Google’s Play Store anymore. The company insists it’s just a temporary break, but they’re not giving us the full story. Sunbird was this kinda niche thing, and teaming up with Nothing just threw a spotlight on its issues. Even though they promised top-notch end-to-end encryption, there were loopholes that let folks mess with private messages. I mean, 9to5Google found over 630,000 files hanging in the balance.
If you were paying attention, you probably saw Sunbird’s struggles coming. But when Nothing stepped in, it became a big deal. They missed deadlines like it was a hobby, all the while talking big about super secure messaging. Back in 2022, during their big announcement, Sunbird dodged questions about their tech and privacy stuff, even shutting down a Zoom chat when things got spicy. Not a great look.
And let’s not ignore the Apple-sized elephant in the room – Apple’s throwing RCS text messaging into the mix in 2024, making apps like Sunbird old news. The days of arguing over green bubbles and blue bubbles are on the way out.
