Facebook has dropped support for BlackBerry mobile operating systems, leaving users unable to connect to the social network via apps.
The decision by Facebook follows a similar move from WhatsApp, which announced last month that it will stop supporting its messaging service on all BlackBerry OS versions including the latest BlackBerry 10.
WhatsApp also said that by the end of 2016 it will end support on the Nokia S40, Nokia Symbian S60, Android 2.1, Android 2.2, and Windows Phone 7.1.
As of 31 March 2016, BlackBerry smartphone users will have to carry out an update for the BlackBerry Facebook application in order to continue the usage of Facebook.
The existing BlackBerry Facebook application will stop working on BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry OS versions 7.1 and earlier.
Those who want to continue using Facebook are urged to move to the web-based experience which BlackBerry claims will offer the most feature rich alternative.
BlackBerry 10 Facebook contact synchronisation will be lost with the updated version of the application.
After upgrading to the latest version of the app, Facebook contacts will no longer synchronise with the on-device Contacts application.
BlackBerry 10 smartphones will not be allowed to share items such as pictures and videos directly to Facebook using the Share icon.
BlackBerry senior marketing manager developer relations Lou Gazzola said in a blogpost: "The app landscape continues to evolve, and in ways that are not always within our control.
"We are extremely disappointed in their decision as we know so many users love these apps. We fought back to work with WhatsApp and Facebook to change their minds, but at this time, their decision stands.
"Despite this, we have worked hard to ensure our end users have the best experience in light of this decision, and are continuing to search for alternate solutions."
Gartner’s 4Q 2015 global smartphone sales reveal taht BlackBerry has been losing market share in the smartphone space.
In the last quarter of 2015, BlackBerry’s OS market share decreased from 0.4% in 4Q 2014 to 0.2% with 887,000 units sold.
In comparison, Android OS dominates with 80.7% of the market share, followed by Apple’s iOS with 17.7% and Windows with 1.1%.
