Multi-service messaging app Beeper, which permits individuals to connect with all their chat apps from one interface, is relaunching its app on Wednesday to supply a safer model that not requires use of its personal cloud providers. As well as, Beeper is introducing premium choices that present entry to extra accounts than its free tier and embrace power-user options like reminders, the power to ship messages later, an incognito mode to learn messages with out marking them learn, AI voice observe transcriptions, and extra.
Now owned by WordPress.com maker Automattic, which purchased Beeper for $125 million in 2024, the app has nearly fully built-in with competitor Texts.com, which Automattic additionally acquired the yr prior for $50 million.
With a mixed 30-person group (together with contractors) and now working underneath the Beeper model, the messaging app helps WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, X, Telegram, Sign, Matrix, Slack, Google Chat, Discord, LinkedIn, and Google Messages (SMS/RCS). On Mac computer systems solely, Beeper can even join customers with their iMessage chats, although Apple has shut down this entry in prior variations.
Picture Credit:Automattic/Beeper
The general objective, based on Automattic, is to simplify the issue of getting too many messaging apps to maintain up with, whereas additionally maintaining these chats safe.
The app beforehand first related with Beeper Cloud earlier than speaking with the messaging community, mentioned Beeper CEO Kishan Bagaria. Whereas that system stays the default, customers will now have the choice of switching to Beeper on machine, which can see the app connecting on to the messaging community and skipping the intermediary.
“That ensures that end-to-end encryption is preserved and your privateness is pretty much as good because the official app,” Bagaria instructed TechCrunch in an interview forward of the app’s relaunch. Whether or not the businesses concerned will admire having their very own apps bypassed, nonetheless, stays to be seen.
“We’ve got good relationships with a few of these firms, and a few of them are OK with this,” Bagaria mentioned. “Others, we’ve not likely heard from a lot.”
Picture Credit:Automattic/Beeper
To stave off any potential shutdowns by messaging community suppliers, Beeper goals to assist the enterprise fashions of the first-party apps every time attainable. For instance, if Telegram is displaying advertisements, these advertisements will likely be proven in Beeper, too.
As well as, EU rules requiring that messaging platforms be interoperable might put strain on messaging app suppliers to go away an answer like Beeper’s alone.
Alongside the relaunch, there’ll now be an choice to improve to a brand new $9.99 per 30 days premium plan, Beeper Plus, which permits customers to attach with 10 messaging providers as an alternative of simply the 5 that free customers have entry to.
As well as, Plus subscribers have the choice to schedule messages to ship later, can set reminders to comply with up on chats, learn messages in incognito mode so that they don’t really feel pressured to reply instantly, entry a number of accounts per community, view AI voice observe transcriptions (processed through OpenAI’s Whisper mannequin with consumer consent), and swap out their app icon for a customized model.
An excellent increased tier, Beeper Plus Plus, which begins at $49.99 per 30 days, presents entry to limitless accounts and is designed with the wants of companies or social media managers in thoughts. (Annual subscriptions are additionally out there at a reduced value of $99.99 per yr for Beeper Plus and $499 per yr for Beeper Plus Plus.)
Picture Credit:Automattic/Beeper
After Automattic acquired Beeper, the corporate mixed its group with Texts.com to develop a brand new product that supplied one of the best of each providers. With Wednesday’s relaunch, these apps are actually 99% built-in, Bagaria mentioned, as just a few smaller options stay to be ported over.
Ultimately, Automattic’s newest acquisition, the private CRM Clay, which can later be rebranded, can even be built-in with Beeper, although it would stay a stand-alone app.
“It’s going to principally be constructed on prime of the Beeper platform — it’ll keep complimentary,” Bagaria mentioned. “Clay is a tremendous app [as it] works right now. Then, with Beeper, it will possibly simply ingest extra interactions and information, which can make it like 2x to 10x higher. As soon as that’s performed, I’m positive Clay could be a very highly effective product.”
Beeper right now has hundreds of thousands of registered customers, together with these from Texts.com. A small portion of those that are nonetheless utilizing Texts.com are actually being supplied the choice emigrate to Beeper, because it has added the on-device know-how, which they like.
Picture Credit:Automattic/Beeper
Bagaria mentioned there should still be some remaining points round reliability when shifting to the on-device mannequin, however these are being labored out as edge instances pop up. At some later level, Beeper Cloud will likely be deprecated as soon as the corporate is bound the on-device mannequin is able to being everybody’s every day driver.
Additional down the highway, Beeper goals to make its information out there to different firms, with consumer permission and controls to guard privateness. As an example, an MCP (mannequin context protocol) Beeper at some point might let customers join to speak apps through Claude or ChatGPT to ask it issues like “summarize all my vital messages from this night.”
These developments will take a while, as Bagaria says he’s additionally a “very privacy-conscious consumer,” and would desire a resolution that’s very clear about what information is accessed and when, and one that enables customers to even manually say sure or no to information requests, maybe.
“We additionally don’t need to have server farms the place we’ve fashions skilled in your information. That’s a whole no-no,” he mentioned.
