We have far too many instant messaging apps on your cell phones that take up our time and thoughts. There is usually the inevitable overload of notifications on the lock screen of your phone. WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Apple iMessage, Slack, Skype and even instant messaging on Twitter and Instagram. Add to that, often there will be too many enthusiastic contacts who believe in over-communication. The end result is that sometimes you want to pull hair out. I certainly do, more often than not. The world is crying out for an app that can put all these apps together in one window so you can not jump between them, jump and jump and eventually exhaust you and your thumbs. Simplify things, if you may. Our prayers have been answered. The app is called Beeper, and it may be the super app you’ve been waiting for. I’m one step closer to nirvana for instant messaging, or so I would hope, and it’s going to cost me $ 10 a month.
When Beeper was announced earlier this year, needless to say, it was something I immediately got on the waiting list for. The promise at the time was that Beeper would return with the chance to discuss the username at some point. This week I finally got so many pending emails with a personal link to retain the username. And in that, attention was paid to detail – you pay $ 10 a month for the service. You now share the credit card details, but after a few weeks you will be charged when you are invited to use Beeper with the username you have reserved for yourself. It’s the same price, whether you sign up for Android or iPhone. There is also the option to pay a year in advance, it is immediately $ 120, which according to the good people at Beeper will put you further on the waiting list. I paid the $ 10 fee to get on the waiting list because the payment for the full year really was not too good with the risk appetite.
So, what do I get for $ 10 a month with Beeper and why would I recommend you at least try it too? The notification bug illustrated above is a primary reason for acquiring an app that brings all your messaging apps together in one place. Beeper is not a messaging app in itself – what it does is bring all your existing accounts under one roof, as one app that you open to read and reply to all chats from all linked apps. Right now, you can bring together WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Apple iMessage, Slack, Skype, Twitter, Instagram, Android Messages, IRC, Matrix, Discord and Beeper network within one app. This is actually most of the popular instant messaging programs, but it is interesting to note that the Chinese owned WeChat and Line are still not part of the supported programs.
Beeper says that once the username is reserved, the wait begins. Every week, they invite more and more people to start using the service. If it’s my turn, I’ll get 30 days to set up my account and start using Beeper, otherwise the username will be released again. The app is multi-platform and is available for Apple iPhone, iPad, Android phones, Apple macOS devices, Microsoft Windows computers and Linux. That being said, to get iMessage working on Android phones, some quick fixes are needed. There are filters for the Inbox inbox, the ability to search all chat networks, as well as to snooze or archive messages. The developers of Beeper say there is currently no free subscriber level, although there are plans to introduce a trial option later this year. Beeper also gets a dark mode with the next app update, which means Beeper users have something cool to look forward to.