WHATSAPP users could be in for a shock later this year, after the instant messaging giant announced it will no longer be supported on a number of popular phones.
The popular messaging service said that the use of mobile devices has evolved drastically since the app was launched.
And the world’s most popular messaging app will also no longer work on BlackBerry devices, including BlackBerry 10.
In a statement, WhatsApp said: “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.
“So, by the end of 2016, we will be ending support for WhatsApp Messenger on some mobile platforms
“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.
“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.”
WhatsApp also recently confirmed it has over one billion active users, meaning the service now has to cope with 42 billion messages and 250 million videos being sent every day.
Changes in our phone preferences mean the affected devices are much less popular now than they were when WhatsApp was launched, with Google, Apple and Microsoft operating systems accounting for 99.5 per cent of sales today.
But when WhatsApp was originally made available, 70 per cent of smartphones were operated by BlackBerry or Nokia systems.
These phones now only represent only a tiny fraction of the mobile market.
