WhatsApp postpones break-up with Blackberry users

Beginning from June 30, 2017, WhatsApp will no longer be available on Blackberry devices.

Although this serves as a setback for the struggling Blackberry, it could have been worse — if WhatsApp had chosen to end its service by the end of 2016 as earlier announced. The company updated its support page with a statement indicating that Blackberry users have 7 months to enjoy WhatsApp.

“We will soon be ending support for certain devices. On June 30, 2017, we will no longer support the following platforms: BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10, Nokia S40, and Nokia Symbian S60.”

WhatsApp also confirmed that the service will be halted on Android 2.1 and Android 2.2 as well as Windows Phone 7 at the beginning of 2017.

The messaging app will no longer be supported on old operating systems including devices running iOS 6 and the iPhone 3GS phone.

“These platforms don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future,” the statement said.

“If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer Android running OS 2.3+, a Windows Phone 8+, or an iPhone running iOS 7+ before the end of 2016 to continue using WhatsApp.”

WhatsApp noted that there is currently no option to transfer chat history between platforms although, upon request, the company can provide chat history attached to an email. Shortly after WhatsApp’s announcement to end support for BlackBerry, the Canadian company expressed its disappointment with WhatsApp’s decision to abandon its platform.