BlackBerry Messenger To Be Shut on 31 May, But There’s a New App

Emtek, the company that operated BBM, says it is finding it hard to survive competition.

Blackberry Messenger couldn't stand up to competition.

Photo: Blackberry Blog

BlackBerry Messenger, a once popular and highly secure messaging platform also known commonly as BBM, will finally be shutting down on 31 May, according to a blog post by the company. Emtek, the company that took over BBM in 2016, has stated that the technology industry is "very fluid" as the reason for shutting down the app.

In a message posted on its blog, the company says:

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. Though we are sad to say goodbye, the time has come to sunset the BBM consumer service, and for us to move on.

But that's not the end of this iconic messenger. There is an app to the rescue.

The original BlackBerry company that now offers security solutions has decided to come out with an app. It is putting the BBMe (Blackberry Messenger Enterprise) application on the Google Playstore and Apple App Store.

This decision was made because of "loyal BlackBerry users" a statement from Blackberry Limited states. The new BBMe app will initially be offered as a free app for a year and then it will cost $2.49 for six months.

BlackBerry still sells in a few markets in South East Asia and in India. Last year, the company launched the Evolve and Evolve X smartphones in India, although they now run on Android. The focus is still on high security, but it's not being able to stand up to the iPhones and Samsungs of the world.