WhatsApp will be ending support for its BlackBerry 10 and Windows Phone apps at the end of this month. While existing users will still be able to use the service, newcomers will be unable to create new accounts; nor will they be able to verify new accounts.
It’s not surprising that WhatsApp is pulling the plug on these two plaforms. Both are effectively dead and abandoned, leaving little reason for anyone to continue supporting them. BlackBerry has announced that it is slow closing down services offered on BB10, while Microsoft doesn’t even talk about Windows Phone anymore.
WhatsApp’s support page also warns that features on these platforms may stop working. If only because no more development is taking place, and any future changes to the WhatsApp service may break how older apps work.
One small issue with switching away from these abandoned apps is that WhatsApp doesn’t offer any ability to transfer message history across platforms. The service says that it is providing the option to send customer’s chat logs over in an email; but that’s not quite the same as having it contained within the same app.
Most people should have moved away from BB10 and Windows Phone for now. But there are always people holding on to old technology for whatever reason.
[Source: WhatsApp]
