In February this year, WhatsApp announced it was dropping support for older devices and platforms by the end of the year. This meant versions of BlackBerry OS, older versions of Android and Windows Phone will no longer be supported come 2017. In the announcement, older versions of Android, 2.1 (Eclair) and 2.2 (Froyo) were no longer to be supported while users of Nokia’s old and abandoned Symbian were also to face the axe as Series 40 and Series 60 support was to end. Microsoft’s ill-fated Windows Phone 7.1 was set to join the short list of platforms that WhatsApp no longer deems meaningful. While Blackberry 7 OS and Blackberry 10 devices were also to be phased off.
Following the announcement, an online petition was created on petition platform change.org seeking to convince Facebook, the owners of WhatsApp, to reverse its decision to drop support for these platforms. Touting WhatsApp’s new status as “the de facto standard for mobile communication”, the petition stateD that more than 10 million users would be affected when WhatsApp ends support for the old platforms.
However, Crackberry reports that WhatsApp has changed its mind and that these devices will continue to receive Support until June 30th 2017. In the announcement which was posted with the latest update of the App to Blackberry 10 users, WhatsApp says:
As announced in our blog, we will soon be ending support for certain devices. On June 30, 2017, we will no longer support the following platforms:
- BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10
- Nokia S40
- Nokia Symbian S60
However, support for Android 2.1 and Android 2.2; Windows Phone 7 and iPhone 3GS/iOS 6 will end on 31st December 2016. In the statement WhatsApp says these platforms no longer offer the capabilities necessary to extand the app’s feaures in future. The messaging services further advises users to upgrade to newer versions of Android OS (2.3+, a Windows 8+ phone, or an iPhone running iOS 7+ before the end of 2016 to continue using WhatsApp.
