WhatsApp set to stop working on thousands after being pulled from Windows phones

WHATSAPP will no longer work on handsets powered by Microsoft’s Windows software from the end of this year.

The messaging app said it is withdrawing support for all Windows smartphones from December, which it has already done for other old and obsolete systems.

It has already withdrawn support for Nokia Symbian S60, Nokia Series 40 operating system, BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10.

The Windows Phone operating system was launched in October 2010, but in January 2019 Microsoft announced that it would no longer support the software from December.

Windows Phone never achieved the success of its rivals and didn’t encourage the same level of interest from app developers.

In a blogpost, WhatsApp said when it started in 2009 "people's use of mobile devices looked very different from today”.

“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.”

WhatsApp will also withdraw support for Android versions 2.3.7 and older on February 1, 2020 and iPhone iOS 7 and older from the same date.

“Because we no longer actively develop for these operating systems, some features might stop functioning at any time,” said WhatsApp.

WhatsApp is a free messaging app which was launched almost a decade ago in 2009.