Facebook-owned mobile messaging app WhatsApp will stop working on a number of platforms from December 31, the company has confirmed.
The messaging app will drop support for 'BlackBerry OS', 'BlackBerry 10', 'Windows Phone 8.0' and older platforms, from December 31, 2017, according to an express.co.uk report published on Monday.
"We will no longer actively develop for these platforms, some features may stop functioning at any time," WhatsApp said.
"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," the company added.
To be specific, After December 31, 2017, BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10, Windows Phone 8.0 and older will not have WhatsApp on it anymore. For Nokia S40, WhatsApp will end support after December 31, 2018 and for Android versions 2.3.7 and older after February 1, 2020.
Phones running on Nokia Symbian S60 stopped supporting the messaging app from June 30, 2017
The announcement regarding removing support for outdated mobile platforms was first made in 2016. However, it later updated users that it extended the deadline for ending support to June 30, 2017, which was further postponed to December 31, 2017.
“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. If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone before the end of 2016 to continue using WhatsApp," WhatsApp said on its blog.