Before WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or WeChat, there was the powerful and popular BlackBerry Messenger (BBM).
Launched in August of 2005, BBM was the first popular mobile chat service that allows users to communicate with others using their mobile phones without text messages or desktop clients.
BBM that has been managed by Emtek since 2016, had experienced massive popularity. But since cross-platform apps like WhatsApp and others entered the market, BBM started struggling.
BlackBerry's solutions were making BBM that was exclusive to BlackBerry devices, available on Android and iOS, and later, on Windows Phone.
It even introduced BBM Enterprise SDK, a secure cloud-based Platform-as-a-Service communications for developers.
But still those efforts didn't help BBM much.
Nearly 14 years later, the service is meeting its end.
"Today we’re announcing that we will be closing BBM consumer service on 31 May 2019," said BlackBerry on its April 18th blog post.
BlackBerry Messenger initially grew in popularity due to its convenience and cost-effectiveness on mobile devices.
Back in those days, phones have limits, and it was often cheaper to simply send a message via data, than using SMS. What's more, BBM offered lots of features and functionalities that weren't present in text messaging.
BBM was exclusive to BlackBerry phones, and this is also one of the reasons why BlackBerry phones were such a hype.
But when the world welcomed Android and iOS, people started moving on. With third-party developers having the ability to create apps for the platforms, an evolution happened. App ecosystem flourished, resulting with users in having solutions that comes from the literally endless choices of apps.
When BlackBerry launched BBM on these platforms in the hopes to regain traction, the effort didn't help it much.
The world has put its face away from the once was the most popular chat platform and the once was the most-loved instant messaging applications in the world.
"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."
"Though we are sad to say goodbye, the time has come to sunset the BBM consumer service, and for us to move on."
"We are grateful for your support and wish to thank everyone, especially our users, partners, and employees, for being part of the BBM consumer service journey."
"We hope you will cherish many fond memories of BBM consumer service that helped shape messenger platforms to become what they are today."
BlackBerry in shutting down its BBM service, does not affect paying users, as they can download the enterprise version of the app from Google's Play Store and Apple’s App Store for $2.50 every six months.
This enterprise version of BBM adds encryption, message editing, and a few other features. And to entice users to stay, Emtek is offering BBM free of charge for the first year of usage. Users are required to pay once that free period is over.