The green bubbles appearing on the iOS iMessage app cause “social stigma,” according to a complaint by the US Department of Justice.
Nothing is going well for Apple. After struggling in China since the start of the year, the iPhone maker is on all fronts, under investigation by the European Commission over its DMA approach as well as a complaint from the US Department of Justice.
Amid various allegations from the US Department of Justice, Apple’s anti-competitive practices led to the failure of Amazon’s Fire phone, as well as the role of message colors on the iMessage app in a potential Apple monopoly.
It is not an important color
Dedicated to SMS, the iMessage application allows you to receive SMS, but depending on whether your interlocutor has an iPhone (or iPad) or an Android smartphone, the color changes. Indeed, iMessage is not available on Android, you have to settle for a “simple” SMS exchange, symbolized by a green bubble in the conversation.
A “social stigma” for the American government with the same name: “green bubble shaming”, in other words “shame of the green bubble”. NPR Radio, which has seen the allegation in the complaint, cites the anecdote of San Francisco technology consultant Michael Anderson, who explains that when he was on dating apps, and switched to texting with his potential winnings, he often received comments. . On the color of the bubble in his message – which was green, because he was using Android.
“I’ve heard of friends who have been ‘haunted’ by it,” he explains, “You don’t want to go on a date with that type of person, but it’s really widespread.”
The question of the color of iMessage bubbles is not new. In January 2022, already, the The Wall Street Journal A survey was conducted that showed that among teenagers, it can also be a sign of differentiation. Clearly, the popular and wealthy have iPhones, the less up-to-date and those with less money have Android smartphones.
“People don’t like the green bubble and are reacting negatively to it,” said a student at an American campus.
RCS coming soon to iOS
There is a somewhat ambivalent perception when we find Android phones for more than 1,500 euros, but which seem to be problematic and present enough in the United States to be cited in the American government’s complaint on Apple’s anti-competitive practices.
“Many non-iPhone smartphone owners experience social stigma, exclusion, and even accusations of ‘breaking’ group chats by iPhone owners, which has a particularly powerful effect on certain populations such as teenagers,” the document explains, adding That in this segment, iPhone has a market share of 85%.
“This social pressure (…) leads users to continue to buy iPhones, supporting Apple’s dominance in the market, not because its smartphones are better, but because Apple has reduced trade with other smartphones,” the complaint states.
In particular, unlike traditional SMS, messages exchanged with iMessage are enriched. You can add reactions or emojis, preview web pages or send documents to each other, and even cancel sending messages. Group chats mentioned above also require all users to type from iPhone.
Faced with pressure from regulators, Apple should improve the situation this fall. The manufacturer announced that it will support RCS, a more advanced format than SMS (with emoji, reactions or group chats) and which works with all smartphones.
But about the “stigma” of the green bubble, nothing will change. Apple has already confirmed that this color will continue to be used to display messages for Android users.
