WhatsApp will no longer support BlackBerry, Nokia S40, Windows 7.1, earlier Android versions

By end of this year, WhatsApp users on BlackBerry, including BlackBerry 10, will no longer be able to use the instant messaging sevice.In addition to cutting support for the BB OS, WhatsApp will no longer be compatible with Nokia S40, Nokia Symbian S60, Windows Phone 7.1 and earlier versions of Android, Android 2.1 and Android 2.2.

The Facebook owned IM announced that these devices and platforms will soon be incompatible with the platform, owing to their inability to offer the kind of capabilities that WhatsApp needs to expand its app’s features in the future.

The company, which recently turned seven years old, now has one-billion monthly active users, meaning one in seven people in the world are now on WhatsApp.

Read more: WhatsApp gains 100m monthly active users in three months, passes 1b like a boss

WhatsApp explained its decision, saying that, “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”.

The company admits that the decision was not easy but that it had to be made. All it takes, for those who can, is an upgrade to a newer Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone before the end of 2016 to continue using WhatsApp.

The platform adds that security played a part in its decision, adding that in the coming months it is putting greater emphasis on security features and the view is then that these devices and operating systems will not be compatible with them.