After being dumped by WhatsApp, BlackBerry is exploring alternatives to replace WhatsApp
After being dumped by WhatsApp, BlackBerry is exploring alternatives to replace WhatsApp – Last week, facebook-owned popular messaging service WhatsApp announced it was dropping support for following mobile platforms:
- BlackBerry OS, including BlackBerry 10
- Nokia S40
- Nokia Symbian S60
- Android 2.1 and Android 2.2
- Windows Phone 7.1
Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry has confirmed that it is exploring alternatives to replace WhatsApp for BlackBerry 10 after the facebook-owned popular messaging company announced that it will withdraw support for the Blackberry Operating System by the end of 2016.
A spokesperson from the Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry reportedly told Techradar “While the app landscape continues to evolve, our commitment to BlackBerry 10 and our developers is unwavering.” He added, “We are actively exploring alternatives for BlackBerry users once support of WhatsApp Messenger for BBOS and BlackBerry 10 ends in late 2016.”
1/2 @WhatsApp on #BB10 & BBOS til end of 2016. We are working on other options.
— BlackBerry (@BlackBerry) March 3, 2016
2/2 @WhatsApp continues on #PRIV. And have you checked out the secure, cross-platform @BBM lately?
— BlackBerry (@BlackBerry) March 3, 2016
For users of BlackBerry’s latest android smartphone PRIV, there’s nothing to be alarmed, for the smartphone runs on Google’s Android operating system, above the android version 2.1 and 2.2. “Users of BlackBerry PRIV, which runs on Android, will not be impacted,” he said.
BlackBerry, in its blog, said it is building extra features into BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), especially on the security front.
“We’re evolving group and multi-person chats. We’re making BBM Protected an even better messaging solution for security-conscious organisations. We’re giving you ever more privacy and security by allowing you to control previews. We’re also working to make BBM more convenient and more fun,” it said.
“While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future.”, say WhatsApp. “This was a tough decision for us to make, but the right one in order to give people better ways to keep in touch with friends, family, and loved ones using WhatsApp. If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone before the end of 2016 to continue using WhatsApp.” Said Whatsapp via their official blog post.
