OpenBubbles
Shares rank 44 of 48 messaging apps by recommenders
Free app that brings iMessage to Android and Windows by connecting directly to Apple's servers, without needing a Mac or your iPhone running alongside.
Free app that brings iMessage to Android and Windows by connecting directly to Apple's servers, without needing a Mac or your iPhone running alongside.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Connects directly to Apple's servers
“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.”
Comment from 29 Aug 2026 in “Tether: iMessage, SMS, etc. on Linux” “It's even better as it does not require the Mac to act like a server.”
Comment from 30 Dec 2025 in “IUseLinux: Access iMessage from your Linux (or windows) computer” Runs iMessage on Windows and Android
“I was able to have it up and running on my daily driver. Win 11 is now much more enjoyable”
Comment from 30 Aug 2026 on Hacker News “It gets iMessage on Android devices and works fine.”
Comment from 28 Apr 2026 in “Phone is about to stop being yours”
Other messaging apps people recommend
The four most recommended other messaging apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 48 messaging apps, rankedWhat people said
5 of the 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“has made staying in the walled iMessage garden such a breeze”
“I was able to have it up and running on my daily driver. Win 11 is now much more enjoyable”
“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.”
“It gets iMessage on Android devices and works fine.”
“It's even better as it does not require the Mac to act like a server.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.