If you’re still using WhatsApp on a Windows Phone 8.0 handset, we have some bad news for you. The Facebook-owned messaging app has recently announced that it will stop supporting the old mobile platform after December 31, 2017, and the app will stop functioning after that date (via Neowin). Windows Phone 8.0 is not the only mobile OS to be affected by this decision, as WhatsApp will also stop supporting BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10 in at the end of the year.
“Because we will no longer actively develop for these platforms, some features may stop functioning at any time,” added the company. However, it’s worth noting that WhatsApp will keep supporting Android versions 2.3.7 and older until February 2020, but these handsets probably represent a bigger user base than both Windows Phone 8.0 and Blackberry users.
Considering that Windows Phone 8.0 is no longer supported by Microsoft, this announcement is not that surprising. WhatsApp will keep functioning on Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile, even if Microsoft will stop supporting the first one next month. Even if Microsoft could soon reboot its mobile efforts, WhatsApp remains one of the most popular messaging apps on the Windows Store, and Windows Phone 8.1 is still the most popular version of Windows Phone in the market after all these years.
