WhatsApp Ending Support For Older Versions Of Android, Windows Phone, Nokia, And Blackberry

WhatsApp has announced that it is ending the support for many older operating systems by the end year 2016.

The Facebook-owned company has revealed that it’ll be ending the support of Android 2.1 and 2.2, Windows Phone 7.1, Nokia Symbian S40 and S60, and BlackBerry (including BlackBerry 10). This news has come few days after WhatsApp completed seven years of its operating and passed one billion monthly active users.

This decision for the above-mentioned versions of Android, Windows Phone, and Symbian makes sense as they are nearly dead. However, the mention of BlackBerry platform is little surprising. This step could be attributed to the fact that BlackBerry has already hinted that it doesn’t plan to launch more BlackBerry 10 smartphones in future and its primary focus will be Android devices.

The WhatsApp team calls it a tough decision with an aim to focus these resources on providing a better functionality to its vast user base. “While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future,” explains the team.

“While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future,” the announcement added. Even though WhatsApp team considers Nokia’s older operating systems dead,  they still enjoy popularity in some developing markets.

The company recommended the affected users to upgrade to a newer version of Android, Windows Phone, or iPhone before the end of 2016 to continue using the WhatsApp instant messaging service.

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