Facebook, WhatsApp end BB 10 support

In a disappointing development for Canada-based BlackBerry, both WhatsApp and Facebook have decided to end support for BlackBerry OS 10 services by the end of 2016  after announcing to discontinue support of its application programming interfaces (APIs) for BlackBerry.

Lou Gazzola, senior manager in charge of BlackBerry's App Ecosystem and Developer Outreach team, said the company was disappointed as many users loved these apps.

''We fought back to work with WhatsApp and Facebook to change their minds, but at this time, their decision stands (but let them know how you feel on social media, using the hashtag #IloveBB10Apps),'' Gazzola posted.

''Our commitment to BlackBerry 10 and to developers has not changed – we know our developer community continues to be one of the strongest proponents of BlackBerry 10 and they are creating thousands of apps every month,'' he added.

The social network's decision comes as BlackBerry started looking beyond its own operating system.

Blackberry last year launched its own Android-based phone, the Priv, priced at Rs62,990 in a sleek design with touch-sensitive keys that allowed users to swipe, scroll and set up shortcuts.

''As a way to support them and to promote new apps, we're now featuring some of the best native applications on BlackBerry World in a list called 'Great Apps on BlackBerry'. The category will be a list of 20 applications, featured for two weeks, once per month, similar to the way we feature apps on the BlackBerry World Carousel,'' Gazzola posted.

WhatsApp said while revealing its decision to drop BB, that Android, iOS and Windows Phone platforms accounted for 99.5 per cent of smartphone sales.

The company's decided to drop BB, in order to focus its efforts on developing the app for the platforms that sold the most.