If your WhatsApp is not working today, it's probably because the smartphone you're using has an operating system that does not support the app anymore. This is due to the company's decision to focus its efforts to the most widely used mobile platforms.
WhatsApp announced to end its support for some operating system last December 2016. The officials of the company cited the reason behind the decision is the limited capabilities of some mobile platforms that might hinder the expansion of the app's features. The elimination of the less popular platforms will give them the advantage in developing and expanding their features for the popular operating systems.
Operating Systems Bid Goodbye To WhatsApp
In a blog post, Whatsapp announced its intent to end support for BlackBerry OS and Blackberry 10, Nokia S40, Nokia Symbian S60, Android 2.1, Android 2.2, Windows Phone 7, and iPhone 3GS/iOS 6 by end of 2016. This means BlackBerry users may not be able to enjoy the features that WhatsApp used to offer.
WhatsApp is aware of the inconvenience the decision might cause for some app users. But in a recent update, the company said that it will extend the app support for the specific BlackBerry and Nokia users until mid-2017.
Currently, there is no specific date set as to when WhatsApp will stop functioning for the said mobile OS but it is expected to happen soon as the company already stated in an earlier announcement that the support would only be extended until the end of last year.
WhatsApp Messaging
The Facebook-owned WhatsApp messaging application is one of the most popular mobile applications available today. A study from Statista said that in February 2016, there were 1 billion active WhatsApp users; a huge leap from the 700 million monthly active users in January 2015.
Features
The rise of WhatsApp's popularity was attributed to the cheaper service provided by the app as compared to normal text messaging rates. The app also handles multimedia such as photos, videos, and music making it a practical choice for mobile users. It also boasts of features that other apps are capable of like video calling, which rolled out last November.
The app sends a total of 64 billion messages a day, according to the same study by Statista. However, there might be a decline in the use of the app if the users of the no longer supported platforms will not opt to upgrade their devices.
