SMS

Doodle Message: compose doodle drawings within the Messages app

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 21, 2013

A while back, we covered a jailbreak tweak called Grafiti [sic]. It allowed you to instantly create and share drawings via the messages app, by acting as a keyboard replacement. WIth that in mind, it supported a lot more apps than just the stock Messages app; it worked with Whatsapp, Mail, Tweetbot, and more.

Doodle Message is similar to Grafiti, in that it allows you to create drawings from within the Messages app, and send those drawings to your friends via Messages. The big difference here is that Doodle Message only works with the Messages app. There are, of course, other smaller differences, as we'll touch on inside.

‘Compose’ adds new Mail and Message shortcuts to Notification Center

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 13, 2013

Looking for a quick and easy way to compose new messages and emails via Notification Center? Then perhaps Compose — a new jailbreak tweak that places shortcuts to each respective app in Notification Center — will suit your fancy.

Compose follows the same visual template that Apple created with its Facebook and Twitter Notification Center shortcuts, but it doesn't work exactly the same. Instead of opening up a small pop-up box to type in any content you wish to share, Compose works more like a shortcut to each respective app. More details inside...

PhotoAlbums+, PwnTunes, and iRealSMS updated for iOS 6 and the iPhone 5

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

Want apps that are already compatible with the iOS 6 and the iPhone 5? Want to update your music library without using iTunes, reply instantly to text messages, and organize your photo albums?

SpiritOfLogic had their three flagship apps PwnTunes, iRealSMS, and PhotoAlbums+ ready for iOS 6 and the iPhone 5 well in advance of the evasi0n jailbreak...

iOS discovered to be saving deleted iMessage attachments

Cody Lee ∙ February 6, 2013

This is kind of odd. It's recently been discovered that iOS has been holding on to deleted SMS and iMessage attachments. The software stores all attachments in the Library/SMS/Attachments directory, and when they're erased from Messages, they're supposed to be erased there too.

But as many folks have pointed out, that doesn't seem to be the case. One user in particular, on a quest to determine what the 'Other' category listed in his device storage consisted of, found that the directory contained thousands of sub-folders with images he was sure he had deleted...

Jailbreak developer says 7 out of 8 users pirated his Remote Messages app

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

Remote Messages is a jailbreak tweak that allows users to access full SMS and iMessage functionality on the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S from a desktop browser. It's a clever utility that allows the iPhone to run as a server, which creates a chat window front-end on desktop browsers. This front-end comes complete with support for profile pictures, attachments, and Emoji icons, as well as for sending and receiving texts. This utility is especially handy if you like to have your phone connected to a stereo away from your desk or if you prefer typing with a full keyboard and screen.

Unfortunately, it seems the $4.99 app is mostly popular with pirates. According to a Reddit thread by the developer, 7 out of 8 installs of Remote Messages are pirated copies...

New report claims WhatsApp Messenger violates privacy laws

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

WhatsApp Messenger is a wildly popular cross-platform SMS replacement service. It allows you to group chat and send media files to other users, and it's estimated to have in upwards of 300 million users.

Well if you're one of those 300 million users, you might be interested to know that according to a new report, the app violates international privacy laws due to the way it handles Address Book data...

Happy twentieth birthday, SMS!

Ed Sutherland ∙ December 3, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4UkJZxC9uA

SMS - or what's now commonly referred to as 'texting' - is twenty years old today. Begun December 3, 1992 in London, SMS grew from one 160-character message every couple months to an astounding seven trillion texts per year. As we send tweets from iPhones and iPads connected across the globe, its time to look back at the grandfather of iMessage - and it all began over a pizza.

The whole idea of SMS was created in 1984 when three engineers at a Danish pizzeria discussed how great it would be to send text messages over the GSM network. Less than a decade later, UK's Vodafone went to work on SMS software. The first message sent: "Merry Christmas" from a Sema Group engineer to Vodafone Director Richard Jarvis. The message travelled the huge distance of 30 miles...

‘ImmediateSend’ allows you to quickly reply to iMessages or SMS messages

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

ImmediateSend is a jailbreak tweak that allows you to send immediate replies to an ongoing text or iMessage conversation. The tweak assumes that you already know the context of the ongoing conversation, so it avoids opening the full body of the chat window to save time.

Instead of the full chat body window, you are instead prompted to send responses to messages via a quick entry text window. This window contains options to reply as an SMS, iMessage, or to open the body of the chat for a full overview of the conversation at hand. Take a look inside for a video walkthrough of ImmediateSend...

AT&T awards young girl $20,000 for creating anti-texting while driving app

Oliver Haslam ∙ September 22, 2012

We all know these days that sending text messages while driving is a pretty bad idea. Raising awareness of the risks is always a worthwhile exercise though, and doing just that is what has earned one 11-year old girl a cool $20,000.

As part of a hackathon last month, the young lady created a concept mobile app that hopes to raise awareness for the "It Can Wait" campaign. This led AT&T to award the prize of $20k for the creation.

Not bad for a kid...

iOS 6 fixes SMS spoofing bug according to hacker

Jeff Benjamin ∙ September 19, 2012

According to iOS hacker Joshua Hill aka p0sixninja, many security vulnerabilities have been stamped out in iOS 6.

Earlier today, Hill tweeted that pod2g's SMS exploit was among one of the security issues addressed.

Security firm says SMS is safer on Android than iOS

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 27, 2017

Last week, infamous iOS hacker pod2g released a report regarding a new security flaw he discovered in Apple's mobile software. The exploit allows for SMS spoofing, and could be used for malicious purposes.

The following day, Apple issued a statement on the texting bug, saying that it was a problem that all manufacturers had to deal with. But according to a new report, that may not be the case...

Apple kinda responds to the SMS security flaw found in iOS

Sébastien Page ∙ August 18, 2012

Yesterday we broke the news that our friend and iOS hacker pod2g had uncovered a major security flaw in the way the iPhone handles SMS. The exploit basically allows anyone to specify a different "reply-to" phone number when sending you a text message. You can easily imagine various scenarios of how this could be used maliciously.

Today, Apple sent a statement that doesn't necessarily makes us feel better about the exploit found, but which does insist on the fact that iMessage is more secure than standard text messages...