Emtek, the company which had acquired BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) app in 2016, has today announced that it will end support for the messaging app on May 31st. The company says that the reason behind shutting down the app is fleeting users over the past years.
The company made efforts to revitalize the app with features like video calling and Uber hailing service, but it seems that was not enough. Most users have now moved on to other platforms for chatting such as WhatsApp and Telegram.
In a statement, Emtek noted, “The technology industry is very fluid, and in spite of our substantial efforts, users have moved on to other platforms, while new users proved difficult to sign on.”
Notably, the BlackBerry Messenger for individuals is going away but not the entire BBM. BlackBerry runs an enterprise version of the BlackBerry Messenger called BBMe and that service will continue to be available.
After the announcement from Emtek about shutting down BBM, BlackBerry also made an announcement saying that the company will open the BBMe to individual users. The app can be downloaded on Android and iOS for free, but there is a $2.50 subscription fee every six months after the one-year free trial.
For those who are unaware, BBMe offers end-to-end encryption and message editing and un-sending features, which were not available for the consumer version of the app. So, if you are still an avid BBM user, the BBMe might be worth spending money on.
