The end of an era
For anyone of a certain age, for a short specific period of time – before WhatsApp, but after MSN Messenger – BlackBerry Messenger was the way that you connected with your mates.
Remember the days of asking the person you fancied for their BBM Pin?
But all things must pass – and it has been announced that BBM will cease for good on May 31st.
Emtek, who have run BlackBerry Messenger since 2016, made the announcement in a blog post.
“We are proud of what we have built to date … The technology industry however, 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,” said Emtek. “Though we are sad to say goodbye, the time has come to sunset the BBM consumer service, and for us to move on.”
Recent updates to the app like video calling and Uber connectivity have tried to revitalise its fortunes but to no avail.
While the regular version of BBM will cease working at the end of May, the paid-for enterprise version of the app, called BBMe will continue. The app is free on Android and iOS, but there is a $2.50/six month subscription fee.
BBM was first launched all the way back in August 2005. While it has largely fallen out of favour around the world, it is still apparently very popular in Indonesia, where it is reportedly installed on 87.5% of Android devices.
