WhatsApp Messenger has officially announced that it is stopping the support for the app on some smartphones running on mobile operating systems BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10 and Windows Phone. Cut-off will begin on Sunday, December 31.
According to its recent statement, the Facebook-acquired messaging service stressed that some OS lack "the kind of capabilities" to support the WhatsApp app's upcoming features.
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Phones that have been confirmed stripped off of support for WhatsApp Messenger are Microsoft's Windows Phone 7, Apple's iPhone 3GS and Nokia Symbian S60. Included in the list are phones running on Android versions older than 2.3.3 Gingerbread.
Meantime, there will also be phones that will be allowed to continue until the specified dates but they cannot be used to create new WhatsApp accounts or re-verify existing accounts. Phones running on BlackBerry OS or BlackBerry 10, as well as Windows Phone 8 and older, have time till December 31, 2017, to be used for signing up for new accounts, while Nokia S40 has until December 31, 2018. Android-powered phones running on 2.3.7 Gingerbread and older have until February 1, 2020.
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The aforementioned devices can still qualify for a fully functional WhatsApp Messenger app if they upgrade to Android 4.0 or later, iOS 7 or later, or Windows Phone 8.1. However, this is subject to eligibility.
For those who have existing accounts and are planning to switch to a new phone, WhatsApp has recommended a few steps to safeguard and keep their chat history and carry them over. Just follow the links according to a device's operating system or device type: iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, BlackBerry 10 or Nokia S40.
