BlackBerry extends BBM Protected to Android and iOS users

Do you want to keep your chats protected? BlackBerry wants to help its users chat with everyone (even the Android and iOS users) with BBM Protected. This used to only work with BlackBerry users but now you can use it to chat with others even if they don’t have a BlackBerry device. BBM Protected will be enabled when you activate it and the messages will appear and stay secure as long as you both have BBM apps.

Source: BlackBerry | Via: Engadget

BBM for Windows Phone expected to exit beta soon

The days of BlackBerry Messenger for Windows Phone being in beta are numbered. The app recently received an update and with it comes the announcement that a public launch is going to take place soon. The new update is intended to improve the experience for first-time BBM users.

There are currently over 91 million users of BBM with a bulk of them on BlackBerry’s own devices. But introducing the messaging service on different platforms is intended to widen the user base further. The Windows Phone launch will help do just that.

Source: Ubergizmo

BBM for Windows Phone now out of beta

Just in case you haven’t noticed BlackBerry Messenger for Windows Phone is now out of beta. It was first introduced in July as a beta release for Windows Phone 8 users. Now, the app is officially up for download on Windows Phone Store. This version of the app (1.01) fixes any of the bugs found during beta and adds the prerequisite performance improvements. It will also supposedly load faster than before.

BlackBerry plans to release ultra-secure BBM to Android and iOS this year

BlackBerry wants to offer business users on Android and iOS with an even more secure messaging service before the year ends. BlackBerry exec Sunil Lalwani told The Hindustan Times that the company will begin offering BlackBerry Messenger Protected on both platforms for an annual fee of US$30 per device. BBM Protected was initially launched for users with BBOS devices running on BES 5 and BB10 users with gold licenses on BES10 that run on EEM-regulated Work Space mode only.

The messaging service is just like BBM but adds a latter of encryption that is shared exclusively by the sender and the recipient. It has a new random symmetric key for message encryption that means if one of your encryption keys gets compromised it won’t expose all your messages.

Source: BGR