We just left Google Plus's funeral not too long ago, and from the latest news coming in, another social networking platform will be killed in less than 42 days.
Indonesia-based media conglomerate Emtek has announced that the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) for consumers will be shutting down by the end of next month (May), though the enterprise-graded BBM is available for individual use.
"Today we're announcing that we will be closing BBM consumers on 31 May 2019," Emtek said in a blog post. "Though we are sad to say goodbye, the time has come to sunset the BBM consumer service, and for us to move on."
Emtek took over BBM's development in 2016 and redesigned the messaging application with modern features with hopes of challenging other popular messaging services but failed.
"Three years ago, we set out to reinvigorate BBM consumer service, one of the most loved, instant messaging application, as a cross-platform service where users can not only chat and share life experiences, but also consume and use payment services," Emtek said.
"We poured our hearts into making this a reality, and 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."
According to CrackBerry a blog that reports on BlackBerry related products, one of the reasons why Emtek's BBM failed was because the service became bloated with ads, games and channels which is one of the features the enterprise version doesn't have.
"We are grateful for your support and wish to thank everyone, especially our users, partners and employees, for being part of the consumer service journey," the Emtek's post added. "We hope you will cherish many fond memories of BBM consumer service that helped shape messenger platforms to become what they are today."
The BlackBerry Messenger enterprise-grade encrypted edition (BBMe)is available for personal use. The app is free for the first year but users will be charged $2.49 for a six-month subscription after the free first year elapses.
BBMe can be downloaded on the Google Play Store and should soon appear on apple's App Store.