Facebook and Messenger apps will stop working for the older versions of these apps for Android, iOS and Windows, by the end of March 2017.
Facebook and Messenger apps have billions of monthly active users and both of these platforms continue to improve by consistently introducing rich features. The updates include audio & video calling, instant games, revamped camera and Stories in Messenger and Live videos & audio, instant articles, fake news tools, 360 videos, built-in weather update, searching photos by contents using AI, updated Trending section, etc in Facebook. The blog reads,
“Using older versions of apps means that experiences won’t work well or sometimes not at all. As a result, we are asking people who are using older versions to upgrade so they can enjoy more of the delightful features of Messenger. We will be ending support for messaging in some older mobile app versions of Messenger and Facebook. We have proactively reached out to those affected and have also offered suggestions right in Messenger… If your devices do not support the newest versions of Facebook, we recommend going to Facebook.com through your mobile browser.”
By the end of March, the support will be ended for following versions:
Android
- Facebook for Android v55, released on November 16, 2015, and below.
- Messenger v10, released on August 14, 2014, and below.
iOS
- Facebook for iPad v26, released on October 10, 2011, and below.
- Messenger v8, released on July 14, 2014, and below.
- Facebook for iOS, released on October 10, 2011, and below.
Windows
- Facebook for Windows Phone.
- Messenger for Windows Phone 8 and 8.1.
- Facebook for Windows 8 and 8.1 desktop app.
Here is what you should do
- For people using Android Versions older than 2.3 (Gingerbread), you can use Facebook and Messenger through your mobile browser. For Version 2.3 (Gingerbread), use Messenger Lite or Facebook Lite where available, or Facebook.com through your mobile browser. For Version 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and above, update to the latest app version, here (Facebook, Messenger).
- For people using iOS, update your Facebook & Messenger.
- For Windows phone, update Facebook, Messenger, and Facebook for Windows Desktop App.
Facebook-owned WhatsApp Messenger also cut off its support for Android 2.1 and Android 2.2, Windows Phone 7 and iPhone 3GS/iOS 6 by the end of December 2016. WhatsApp for BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, Nokia S40 and Nokia Symbian S60 will work until June 30, 2017.
