BlackBerry Users Launch Petition To Fight WhatsApp

Updated on

BlackBerry owners furious and irritated with WhatsApp’s decision to stop supporting the operating system have launched an online petition to fight against the messaging giant. Last week, WhatsApp announced plans to end support for the BlackBerry OS later this year.

BlackBerry has small but active user base

Though the Canadian smartphone maker has a small share of the global smartphone market, its users were prompt in fighting against the decision.

“WhatsApp decided to stop supporting BlackBerry 10 at the end of this year. This is nonsense [sic] a lot of people still use the platform daily. I hope WhatsApp/Facebook sees [sic] this. At least give us the service with no updates. Please share this with your friends! WhatsApp will hear us [and] care about us,” the petition reads.

By Tuesday, there were about 120 signatures on the petition.

When the messaging app was launched in 2007, BlackBerry and Nokia controlled 70% of mobile devices, WhatsApp said, recalling happier times for BlackBerry. But the app also noted that now this figure has fallen below 1%, and Apple, Google and Microsoft now account for 99.5% of smartphones sold worldwide.

A tough decision to make

WhatsApp will also end support for Nokia’s Symbian S40 and S60 operating systems, Android versions 2.1 and 2.2 and Windows Phone 7.1. Giving reasons, WhatsApp said these operating systems don’t offer the kind of capabilities needed to expand its eatures.

“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,” the messaging giant said.

The messaging network suggested that users upgrade to a newer Android, iPhone or Windows Phone to keep using the service.

WhatsApp hitting a big milestone

Just weeks after the company was celebrating the 1 billion user mark, the news of WhatsApp canning BlackBerry came. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is very happy with the milestone, noting that the WhatsApp community has more than doubled since joining Facebook. Also since joining Facebook, the messaging app has added new features like calling to connect more people and dropped the subscription fee.

“There are only a few services that connect more than a billion people. This milestone is an important step towards connecting the entire world,” Zuckerberg concluded.

Leave a Comment