Facebook-owned instant messaging app WhatsApp has recently announced that it will end support for certain handsets from December 31, 2017. Eventually, time for some smartphone owners to let go of it or purchase a new one!
WhatsApp in a recent release stated that starting January 1, 2018 the messaging app will stop working on Blackberry OS, Blackberry 10 and Windows Phone 8.0 and older.
“We will no longer actively develop for these platforms, some features may stop functioning at any time. These platforms don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future.,” the company said.
WhatsApp had earlier announced it will stop support on many of these older devices. However, end of support may not strictly mean that the users will lose access to their WhatsApp accounts. They can continue using the app, but will not receive any update in the future.
WhatsApp has also recommended upgrading to newer iOS versions or to a newer Android phone. Android running OS 4.0+, iPhone running iOS 7+, or Windows Phone 8.1+ will not be affected. They may expect regular updates, but will be the ones to be axed in the future.
The company, however, confirmed that it will continue to work on Nokia S40 until December 31, 2018, while will support Android 2.3.7 and older until February 1, 2020.
“Once you have one of these devices, simply install WhatsApp and verify your phone number on the new device. Keep in mind that WhatsApp can only be activated with one phone number on one device at a time,” WhatsApp added.
Notably, WhatsApp currently provides no option to transfer chat history across platforms. Meaning, upon upgrading to the newer platform a user is likely to lose all of its chat history.