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Posted by zackb 6 days ago

Tether: iMessage, SMS, etc. on Linux(zackbartel.com)
397 points | 165 commentspage 2
hollow-moe 10 hours ago|
Very nice, I'll say Continuity can absolutely be implemented fully on Linux though ! I think the thing we'd need very first is an actual communication "backbone" that would span bluetooth,wifi-direct and even mesh networks like Tailscale or smth. Continuity is partly based on AWDL, Apple proprietary implementation of Wifi-Direct to allow high speed local inter device communication and allow things like Sidecar with an iPad. Then we could implement protocols over that backbone to implement actual useful applications.
nightsd01 3 hours ago||
> Since then I've done Opus and then Fable bug / security sweeps regularly.

This part surprises me a bit. Fable always falls back to opus for me the instant 'security' is involved (thanks for that, Anthropic)

lisp2240 2 hours ago||
So it’s the Linux equivalent of Phone Link/Link to Windows?
amluto 8 hours ago||
What’s the security story behind the iMessage integration? Why is iOS willing to send iMessage data over Bluetooth to a device that hasn’t convinced Apple that it’s a validly authenticated device signed in as the same user?
forestry 7 hours ago||
I don’t know the full history but before CarPlay it was used to read and respond to messages using entertainment systems.
dalyons 7 hours ago||
Cars probably. My car reads and sends iMessages via Bluetooth.
erikwb 3 hours ago||
100%. You have to advertise that you're a car, basically, before the iphone opens the door to messages.
SoftTalker 12 hours ago||
Wasn't there another iMessage clone for Linux/Android a few years back and they got a C&D from Apple? Or maybe Apple just blocked their service?
teach 7 hours ago||
This is very different from Beeper or BlueBubbles.

Tether is "merely" talking to your iPhone over bluetooth and the local network. It does nothing if you don't already have an iPhone. Apple should have no more reason to come after this than it does a Garmin watch that can show your iMessages via bluetooth.

jnovek 12 hours ago|||
There’s bluebubbles which runs a server on a Mac and syncs your messages that way.
cromka 10 hours ago||
Its derivative OpenBubbles doesn't, though
aaronax 12 hours ago|||
Beeper?
ghostly_s 7 hours ago|||
Yes, I don't see why the author expects anything different to happen this time. I guess there's a new king on the throne.
SoftTalker 12 hours ago|||
Yes that sounds right.
trollbridge 10 hours ago||
As a general rule, Apple will shut down an operator of such service once it gets used to pump out spam.

Of course, every spammer dreams of their spam texts coming through as a blue bubble.

inigyou 8 hours ago||
What if there is no operator?
dadoum 10 hours ago||
Oh, so it requires an app, which isn't even available on older iOS versions… that's such a shame, I wanted to try it out on my iOS 17.0 iPhone. (and I thought it was just using the official Apple ways used for macs, so that's a small disappointment)
VladVladikoff 9 hours ago||
Whoa this is so much better than having to send it via a BlueBubbles bridge, if this actually works I’m donating! Awesome project!
starik36 6 hours ago|
I am not sure that it is. From what I understand, Tether requires a companion app running on your iPhone. And as such, is subject to being shut down by the OS for various reasons (inactivity, etc...). So sometimes you would have to restart the app.

I use LocalSend and every now and then the connection does not work and I have to restart it on the phone.

lxe 11 hours ago||
Oh, fantastic, thank you. If this allows me to drop files onto an iPhone without me having to open an app, that would solve a lot of my issues. I use localsend right now and although I really love it, it still requires me to always keep the app open on the phone.
teo_zero 11 hours ago||
This is for iPhones only. Do I assume correctly that the issue is solved for Android, instead?
inigyou 8 hours ago||
I don't know the specific ones, but there are android apps that replace Google Messages (dark pattern warning: enabling this makes your previous messages inaccessible as Google Messages won't let you read them unless it's your default SMS app) as well as apps that can send and receive in parallel to Google Messages. I'm not sure if there are also apps that can read your message history out of Google Messages.
Marsymars 5 hours ago||
I've been using SMS Backup & Restore (from SyncTech) for years - it reads full history out of Google Messages any time I've used it.
phrotoma 11 hours ago||
Also curious. I keep messages.google.com in a pinned tab but the number of times I have to go find my phone and re-authenticate is too damned high.
bigyabai 11 hours ago||
On Android, you can use KDE Connect on KDE and GSConnect on GNOME. It has a Messaging app that syncs with your phone's SMS.
jonathanwallace 11 hours ago|
This is incredibly timely as I moved my first choice personal computer to full time linux this week (and am a long time iPhone user who loves the autofill as well). I'll be happily contributing when I find an itch that needs to be scratched.
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