Instant messaging application WhatsApp will stop supporting BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10 and Windows Phone 8.0 from December 31. In addition to these platforms, the Facebook-owned instant messaging service will stop supporting some other platforms as well.
While WhatsApp is dropping support for these platforms due to changing technology and increasing compatibility differences, support will also be discontinued for certain older Android smartphones. However, the support will continue for newer BlackBerry devices running Android OS. Some of the old Nokia phones will also get not be supported in the coming days.
WhatsApp discontinued for these platforms
We expected this to happen sooner or later and now it is actually happening. The WhatsApp service will no longer be available for BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10 and Windows Phone. While the updates were cut off earlier, now WhatsApp will be unusable from December 31 on these platforms.
In addition to the growing compatibility issues, WhatsApp dropping support for these platforms could also be due to the irrelevance of these old platforms in terms of market-share.
Not only BlackBerry OS, WhatsApp will also not be available for Windows Phone 8.0 and older phones. In the near future, the company also talks about ending support for Nokia S40 and Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread. In simple words, it will now provide services only for devices which can be developed for without compatibility or performance problems.
WhatsApp has updated its FAQ section saying that the platforms for which support has been dropped do not offer the feature-set and capabilities required for the app’s features in the future.
“These platforms don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future. If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer OS version, or to a newer Android running OS 4.0+, iPhone running iOS 7+, or Windows Phone 8.1+ so that you can continue using WhatsApp.”
