WhatsApp has become an essential messaging app amongst all kinds of mobile users irrespective of the operating system their devices run on. In February last year, Facebook-owned WhatsApp announced to end support for BlackBerry OS and Nokia S40 platforms, which got pushed back to June this year. It seems that the end-of-life date has been pushed back yet again, as the company has reportedly confirmed the extension of its services for BlackBerry and Nokia S40 platforms till December 2017 and December 2018 respectively.
Update: WhatsApp has confirmed the revised end-of-life timelines for the BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, and Nokia S40 platforms on its website.
As per a report by Netherlands-based fan website WhatsAppen, the WhatsApp apps for BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry OS7+ received an update on Monday that extends support for the platforms until December 31, 2017. According to the website, the changelog of the update, seen on devices, states “changed client end-of-life date to December 31, 2017”. This means that WhatsApp users on eligible BlackBerry devices will be continue sending and receiving messages, calls till the end of the year.
In addition, the Nokia S40 platform has reportedly got an extension for WhatsApp support till December 31, 2018 – however, this date may be a typographical error. Spotted by WhatsApp watcher WABetaInfo, the end-of-life date has been moved from December 31, 2017 to December 31, 2018. There are a limited number of customers who use the Nokia S40 platform nowadays, but it will still bring relief to those who still carry the dated devices. However, Nokia Symbian S60 users don’t have much time on their hands as WhatsApp will end its support on the platform on June 30 this year.
If the reports are true, BlackBerry 10, BlackBerry OS7+, and Nokia S40 users still have ample time to access WhatsApp on their platforms. However, the Nokia Symbian S60 devices will cease to support WhatsApp and if you need your chat backed up, you can make a request to get the backup in an email from the company. Notably, there is no option on Nokia S40 and Symbian S60 devices to backup chats.