WhatsApp will STOP working on these phones on New Year's Eve - make sure yours isn't on the list , II You Might Be About To Lose WhatsApp On New Year’s Day If You’ve Got A Phone Of A Certain Age

WhatsApp will stop working on some phone operating systems after December 31, 2017.

The popular messaging app made the announcement earlier in the year and explained that it is looking ahead to the iOS and Android platforms.

"As we look ahead to our next seven years, we want to focus our efforts on the mobile platforms the vast majority of people use," the company said in a blog post .

Any BlackBerry device running BlackBerry OS or BlackBerry 10 will no longer be able to use the messaging app in 2018.

(Image: Getty)

BlackBerry has shifted to Android this year, but older handsets still use its own in-house software.

Additionally, any phone using Microsoft's Windows 8.0 (or older) OS will not be supported. Even Microsoft has admitted defeat when it comes to its mobile OS, so the lack of WhatsApp support shouldn't come as a surprise.

WhatsApp itself has been around since 2009 and has slowly added more and more features, such as end-to-end encryption and video calling. Because of its cross-platform support it has become the most popular messaging platform in the world.

Credit: PA

The popular messaging app announced this move as a look forward to the future, suggesting that it will only be looking to be compatible with iOS and Android going forward.

The company said: "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."

WhatsApp is used by over a billion people worldwide - a large number of whom presumably have a phone that is going to be incompatible on 31 December.

But we are assured that this is happening for our protection. WhatsApp needs to keep moving with the times to ensure that security is kept up to date. This is more important than ever, especially if you are an Olympic cyclist, or the president of the USA.

Unlikely as it is that The Donald is sitting in his presidential toilet tweeting on an ancient Blackberry phone that he got at work, come the New Year, he'd have to re-think his social media policy.

Luckily all Blackberry handsets now run on Android, so you'll have to own a pretty old device for this to hit you when you're trying to fire up the group chat lols.

To recap, if you own a phone that runs on Blackberry OS, Blackberry 10, or Windows 8.0 or older - get a new phone or stop using WhatsApp. In fact, just get a new phone.

Words: Tom Wood