WhatsApp has announced that it will end support for BlackBerry OS (including BlackBerry 10) and Windows Phone 8.0 (and older) on December 31st.
According to a blog post by WhatsApp, the end of support doesn’t mean it will no longer function on these platforms. That said, you will no longer be able to create new accounts or re-verify existing accounts.
For owners of these older devices, the Facebook-owned messaging platform admonishes them: “To upgrade 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. This is because these platforms don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future.
“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. There is currently no option to transfer your chat history between platforms. However, we provide the option to send your chat history attached to an email.”
Meanwhile, if you’re a BlackBerry user and want to keep getting WhatsApp updates, you’ll need to switch to an Android-powered BlackBerry device.
If you’re a Windows Phone user, you should still get WhatsApp updates on Windows 10 Mobile devices. That said, given that Windows 10 Mobile has been rested, this is as good a time as any to switch to Android or iOS.
WhatsApp had disclosed at the end of 2016 that it is ending support for older mobile operating systems from BlackBerry and Nokia.
As for Nokia, WhatsApp has also shared that support for the Nokia S40 will be dropped on December 31, 2018. Older Android devices (version 2.3.7 and older) have the longest timeline: They will be supported until February 1, 2020.
