Tether brings iMessage and SMS to Linux
Tether: iMessage, SMS, etc. on Linux
Tether, an open-source project by Zack Bartel, brings Apple's Continuity features to Linux, including iMessage, SMS, notifications, clipboard sync, file transfer, and OTP autofill. It uses Bluetooth to communicate with an iPhone, avoiding the need for a Mac proxy. The project is MIT-licensed and aims to be a complete solution for Linux users with iPhones.
And my damn text OTP codes FINALLY autofill in the web browser!
- pzmarzly
> Personally, I think putting an interoperability protocol implementation behind a copyleft license is a little unfortunate!
Huh, haven't thought of it. Just relicensed ancs4linux to MIT.
- voakbasda
Mega-kudos to the author for chipping away at the wall around Apple’s garden.
I have had a iPhone for 15 years, and I have only ever been able to back it up with iTunes on windows (as I will never buy a Mac).
Apple’s refusal to provide interoperability borders on criminal. I wish there was a better option.
- amluto
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?
- ThinkBeat
This is all made possible by broker app on the iPhone / (or other device)
to send data back and forward.
When I first read the headline I thought it would integrate directly into the Apple ecosystem without needing middlemen which would have been crazy impressive since I believe it is or very near entirely impossible.
- blinkingled
As a KDE Connect user for a few years I know it doesn't always work without reconnecting especially with sleep cycles on the phone and the laptop but it does everything on Android at least - clipboard sync, notifications, sms, calls, remote control and media playback control. Must be iOS restrictions that made the author go through the admirable effort.
IOW Linux ecosystem has better vertical integration without any direct ties with Android :)
- pkulak
Sorry if this is obvious, but does it use the same thing OpenBubbles does? What's nice about that is that it just hooks directly into Apple's servers, so doesn't require a connection to your phone or anything.
- harryposner
The linked blueferry doc is excellent. Back in 2020, inspired by a comment on HN, I looked into writing a proxy to send and receive iMessages on Linux through an iPhone connected with Bluetooth Message Access Profile (MAP). I was able to send and receive messages, but I ran into the problem mentioned in the doc in the "Group metadata side channel" section: the bMessages in the inbox included the message originator, but didn't include the recipients, even though the MAP standard says that it "shall" be included (see page 22). I didn't know about ANCS, so it didn't occur to me to use that channel, and without any way to tell what context a message was sent in, I couldn't do threading, so I decided it wasn't worth pursuing.
The group messages were the biggest problem, and that's what made me give up, but there were some other issues:
- Shared links showed up as "Website: Short description (example.com)" and didn't include the URL
- Images weren't shown at all
I might take a look and see how blueferry handled those limitations.
[blueferry doc] https://github.com/erikwb/blueferry/blob/main/PROTOCOL.md
[inspiration] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23411520#23413394
[Bluetooth MAP standard] https://www.bluetooth.com/specifications/specs/message-acces...
- VladVladikoff
Whoa this is so much better than having to send it via a BlueBubbles bridge, if this actually works I’m donating! Awesome project!