WhatsApp will soon bid farewell to Blackberry OS and Windows Phone 8.0 as it tunes out its support for older mobile operating systems.
According to Engadget, the app could stop working on these platforms any time after Dec. 31 and users will not be able re-verify existing accounts or create new ones.
"These platforms don't offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app's features in the future," WhatsApp said in a statement, according to PC Magazine.
"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."
Those using the affected models will have to upgrade to a newer OS, the Daily Mail said.
The issue, though, is that there is no option to transfer chat history from one platform to another, so installing the app on a new device means starting over.
If there are chats that you are desperate to hold on to, PC Magazine offered one viable solution — send the chat via email, with instructions on how to do so available on WhatsApp's FAQ page.
According to WhatsApp, there are more than 1 billion people in over 180 countries using the Facebook-owned chat app, which was founded by Jan Koum and Brian Acton, who had cultivated 20 years combined experience working at Yahoo.
The app has previously passed out support for Android versions older than 2.3.3, Windows Phone 7, iPhone 3GS/iOS 6, and Nokia Symbian S60, PC Magazine reported.
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