Nothing Removes New Messaging App Due to Privacy Concerns

Nothing pulled out the beta of its new messaging app, Nothing Chats, from the Play Store only a day after its release.

Nothing Chats Suspends Launch Amid Privacy Concerns

One day after the beta app hit the Play Store, Nothing released a statement that the company had removed and will delay the launch until further notice. Moreover, both Nothing and Sunbird are already working to fix several bugs.

A 9to5Google report defined the Nothing chats as a "privacy nightmare" due to its lack of end-to-end encryption, which was a feature promised by both companies. In addition, image files sent by other users were reportedly easy to access in plain text.

When the app was announced last week, Nothing wrote "Nothing Chats is built on Sunbird's platform and all Chats messages are end-to-end encrypted, meaning neither we nor Sunbird can access the messages you're sending and receiving. However, both companies failed to deliver on their promises.

Users Investigate Nothing Chats Privacy Issue

Several users published their findings on X, most of which pointed out that the app is not using HTTPS and credentials are sent over plaintext HTTP. However, Sunbird argued that regardless of the usage of HTTP all data is encrypted and it is only used as part of the one-off initial request from the app.

Moreover, X user Dylan Roussel revealed that Sunbird will have access to every message sent and received through the app on the device. In addition, all files sent are also available to the public.

While Nothing did not directly mention the privacy issues as part of the delay, the company shared that they "will do right by our users." As of writing, the company is yet to disclose how long will the app be available again.