WhatsApp stops working on these smartphones

San Francisco Jan 2 (IANS) Facebook-owned mobile messaging app WhatsApp has stopped working on smartphones that support BlackBerry OS BlackBerry 10 Windows Phone 8.0 and older platforms in the New Year.

"These platforms don t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app s features in the future " a spokesperson wrote in a support note on the company s website.

"If you use one of these affected mobile devices we recommend upgrading 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 " it said.

Users would be able to use WhatsApp but would not be able to create new accounts or re-verify existing accounts.

"Because we will no longer actively develop for these platforms some features may stop functioning at any time " WhatsApp said.

WhatsApp would also end support for Nokia S40 after December 31 2018 and Android versions 2.3.7 and older after February 1 2020.

"As we look ahead to our next seven years we want to focus our efforts on the mobile platforms the vast majority of people use " the company said.

"If you use one of these affected mobile devices we recommend upgrading to a newer Android iPhone or Windows Phone to continue using WhatsApp " it added.

--IANS
na/in