WhatsApp will stop working on some phone operating systems after December 31, 2017.
The popular messaging app made the announcement earlier in the year and explained that it is looking ahead to the iOS and Android platforms.
“As we look ahead to our next seven years, we want to focus our efforts on the mobile platforms the vast majority of people use,” the company said in a blog post .
Any BlackBerry device running BlackBerry OS or BlackBerry 10 will no longer be able to use the messaging app in 2018.
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BlackBerry has shifted to Android this year, but older handsets still use its own in-house software.
Additionally, any phone using Microsoft’s Windows 8.0 (or older) OS will not be supported. Even Microsoft has admitted defeat when it comes to its mobile OS, so the lack of WhatsApp support shouldn’t come as a surprise.
WhatsApp itself has been around since 2009 and has slowly added more and more features, such as end-to-end encryption and video calling. Because of its cross-platform support it has become the most popular messaging platform in the world.
Even though it has over a billion users, many of whom have older phones, changes in technology mean it has to phase out compatability to keep security up to date.
“This was a tough decision for us to make, but the right one in order to give people better ways to keep in touch with friends, family, and loved ones using WhatsApp.”
