Facebook drops support for BlackBerry phones, following WhatsApp in leaving platform

BlackBerry said that it was ‘extremely disappointed’ by what amounts to a complete abandoning of its products by two of the biggest apps in the world

Zuckerberg told Brazilians to use Facebook Messenger while WhatsApp is blocked (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)

Facebook has dropped support for BlackBerry phones, leaving them unable to connect to the social network through apps.

The Facebook app is following subsidiary WhatsApp in cutting off support for the phones, meaning that they’ll no longer be able to communicate with the world’s most used social network.

BlackBerry said that it was “extremely disappointed” in Facebook’s decision, because “we know so many users love these apps”.

“We fought back to work with WhatsApp and Facebook to change their minds, but at this time, their decision stands,” the company wrote in a blog post that encouraged anyone who uses Facebook or WhatsApp on their BlackBerry to post about it on social media. “Despite this, we have worked hard to ensure our end users have the best experience in light of this decision, and are continuing to search for alternate solutions.”

The company will allow BlackBerry users to access Facebook by giving them a simple app that allows it to get to Facebook through the web. But they won’t be able to use any of the more advanced features of the app and likely won’t receive updates in the future.

It also looked to highlight some of the other apps that are available for the platform, including an “update to the Twitter app”.