BlackBerry OS will lose the WhatsApp support by the end of 2016, according to the announcement made by the Facebook-owned company earlier this month. And now, it seems some of Facebook’s own social media app for BlackBerry 10 will not be getting updates as March comes to an end.
Facebook to get inaccessible unless users update
The latest update to Facebook for BlackBerry 10, which may probably be the last as well, indicates that the app will shift towards becoming a mobile website launcher. The Canadian firm says the latest update is an important one, since it will offer continued Facebook access to BlackBerry users with the use of a browse- based interface.
“There are some non-user facing changes that are mandated by Facebook. It is strongly recommended that users update to this version, as older versions of Facebook will stop working on March 31, 2016,” the Canadian firm noted in a blog post.
This means, after 31st of March, owners of the BB10 will have to make the mandatory update for their BB10 devices. Owners of devices that run on BlackBerry OS 7.1 or earlier will no longer be able to use the Facebook app. This change is brought by version 10.8 of Facebook for BB10 app, and at the same time, removes Facebook entries within BlackBerry Hub.
What it means for BlackBerry users?
The change also means that BlackBerry Hub integration no longer exists on Facebook. Additionally, it will no longer be possible for the BB10 smartphones to share items like pictures and videos directly to Facebook using the Share icon.
Once the users update, they will gain new capabilities also. They will be able to reply to comments and see replies to comments. All the post should be loaded i.e. the users will no longer get “News feed could not be retrieved” or “Post could not be loaded” messages. Lastly, any features that are available to Facebook website users will also be available to the users in the updated application.
BlackBerry suggests its users to go straight to the BlackBerry World listing of the Facebook app, where they can download the update. Once user downloads and installs the update, BlackBerry’s native Facebook app will be transformed into a link, which will take the users to the web-based version of the site.
On its support page, the Canadian firm notes, “Those wishing to continue using Facebook are encouraged to move to the web-based experience which will provide the most feature rich alternative.”
