Many users have noticed that we haven’t enabled WhisperPush capabilities into CM13, though there are patches up that include that updated work and integration into the MMS apks for both 12.1 and CM13.
We’ve ultimately made the decision that we will no longer be supporting WhisperPush functionality directly within CyanogenMod. Further, WhisperPush services will be end-of-lifed beginning Feb 1st 2016. As this is a server side implementation, all branches of CM from CM10.2 and forward will be affected.
We are still very big proponents of the secured messaging protocol, but maintenence of our own implementation saw some hiccups (longstanding registration issues & issues with various countries) which ultimately led to our decision. Our recommendation to users who rely on this functionality is to hop onto the Signal application (details at bottom on this post).
To recap:
A little over two years ago we debuted our joint project to integrate WhisperPush into CyanogenMod.
Late in the 12.1 cycle, we began updating the protocol to reflect Open Whisper System’s upstream changes. These proved to be non-trivial with respect to the ‘headless’ nature of the WhisperPush service.
We transitioned the work to CM13, instead opting to implement directly within our Messaging application. However, with the rapid adoption of the official Signal application, our implementation into Messaging would have been a seemingly unnecessary fork. Analyzing the costs of SMS verification (many thanks to Twilio for their support on this), usage traffic, server costs and registration numbers, forking would serve no larger long-term user benefit.
User Impact:
If your current device & number is registered with our WhisperPush, you can unregister via the Settings > Privacy > WhisperPush directly via the device (CM10.2 – CM12.1)
If you no longer have access to your registered device or number, or otherwise don’t unresgister on your own, we will unregister all numbers on February 1st, 2016. Unregistering numbers will ensure that your active clients don’t run into the ‘iMessage problem’ and send messages into the void.
After February 1st 2016, messages will no longer go through our service, and will be sent as regular SMS messages instead.
Signal:
We strongly encourage those who used WhisperPush regularly to install the Signal application. Combining TextSecure (encrypted text) and RedPhone (encrypted voice) capabilities, this open source application comes directly from Open Whisper Systems (who helped us create and implement WhisperPush) to make secure communication simple and easy. It’s also cross-platform, with a Desktop beta in flight and iOS support as well. See more information and sources via Open Whisper Systems’ website.
We’d like to thank Moxie and his team for their support of CyanogenMod over the past two years, their continued maintenance of the secured protocol and their passion for making security simple for users.
-The CyanogenMod Team