App lets you see everything a person types BEFORE they hit send
The texting app that could land you in a whole lot of
trouble! Messenger lets you see everything a person types BEFORE they hit send
Beam Messenger shows users what their friends are typing
in real time
The words, and any corrections, appear in the window
before they are sent
This means users can interject mid-conversation, or plan
a reply
In theory, messages never need to be actually sent - only
previewed
Using the app in this way means no data is sent,
potentially making messages secure
MailOnline has contacted the app's makers to find out
more information
By Victoria Woollaston for MailOnline
Published: 10:33 EST, 13 November 2014 | Updated: 04:36 EST, 14 November 2014
If you are someone who types a furious text message, only
to reconsider and edit it before hitting ‘send,’ you may be in trouble.
The Beam Messenger app shows everything another person is
typing in a text message as they type it.
This means that if your friend has the app, they could
see the keys you press, including corrections and everything you choose not to
send.
The free Android app (pictured) shows users what their
friends are typing in real time. The words, and any corrections, appear in the
message window before they are sent, meaning users can interject
mid-conversation, or plan a reply. An iOS app is 'coming soon'
The Californian firm behind the free Android app claim it
is ‘a first of its kind true real-time communications app’ that more closely
mimics the way people to chat in person.
For example, it lets people interject or comment in
real-time, without having to wait for the other person to hit send.
And, if the recipient already knows a story that the
sender is typing, they can tell them so they don’t waste time finishing the
text.
Elsewhere, the app also means people can have
conversations without ever hitting send, making them secure because no data is
ever transferred and stored on a network.
TRACKING TYPING IN REAL TIME
On the web, sites can determine that a post is being typed
by tracking code in the HTML form element of the post.
This form element is made up of HTML code that controls
the boxes users type in to.
Each time characters are entered into one of these boxes,
the app can track the changes in the HTML code.
Facebook uses this technology, for example, but the
social network has stressed it can’t see the exact keys pressed, and it doesn’t
monitor keystrokes.
This means the code doesn’t reveal what is being typed.
However, Facebook can track when characters and words are
typed, how many are typed, and if the typed characters are deleted or
abandoned.
Beam Messenger uses Text Watcher from Android that
monitors HTML elements in a similar way.
For every sentence, Beam also has an error checking
mechanism to ensure the readability of the sentence.
Beam's boss Alec Gordon told MailOnline the app does not
monitor any messages that are being sent by the users.
Only messages that ever go up in database are those that
cannot be currently delivered, thus waiting for the client device to reconnect,
and then it's delivered and wiped.
The app is currently working on the encryption part of
the error checking, among other things, to ensure no information will be leaked
if it's intercepted by a third party.
Beam Messenger uses Text Watcher from Android that
monitors HTML elements behind the scenes, as users type.
For every sentence, Beam also has an error checking
mechanism to ensure the readability of the sentence.
Beam's boss Alec Gordon told MailOnline the app does not
monitor any messages that are being sent by the users.
Only messages that ever go up in database are those that
cannot be currently delivered, thus waiting for the client device to reconnect,
and then it's delivered and wiped.
The app is currently working on the encryption part of
the error checking, among other things, to ensure no information will be leaked
if it's intercepted by a third party.
The Toronto-based developers added there is no delay
between typing and seeing the words appear in the message window.
It calls this ‘beaming in’, and said it gives users the
ability to ‘interrupt, interject, comment, and the like’.
‘While you are texting inside a bubble, without breaking,
you are allowed to backtrack and jump forward at will.
‘Also you may delete the whole text altogether, gone from
both devices in true real time fashion.’
An iOS app is 'coming soon.'
A similar app, launched earlier this year called Ansa,
lets users delete messages from other people’s phones.
Ansa works in a similar way to Snapchat, by automatically
deleting messages, photos and videos seconds after they’ve been viewed.
However, unlike Snapchat, Ansa lets users also delete
messages remotely, before they get a chance to read it.
Facebook research in December found that 70 per cent of
users regularly write a comment or status, before deciding not to post it.
The study found that men are more likely to 'self-censor'
their social network posts, compared to women, and this is especially the case
if they have a lot of male friends.
This form element is made up of HTML code that controls
the boxes Facebook users type in to, including the status update box.
Each time characters are entered into one of these boxes,
scientists can track the changes in the HTML code.
The researchers were also able to track typing in the
comment box on statuses, photos and other posts.
To be clear, Facebook can’t track the exact keys pressed,
and it doesn’t monitor keystrokes. This means the code doesn’t reveal what is
being typed.
However, Facebook can track when characters and words are
typed, how many are typed, and if the typed characters are deleted or
abandoned.
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