Facebook is planning to retire some of its Windows Phone applications on April 30. As confirmed by a Microsoft spokesperson, the Facebook will stop supporting Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger applications for Windows Phone at the end of this month. The fate of WhatsApp Windows Phone app is unclear at the moment. WhatsApp only supports Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile right now. WhatsApp is yet to say anything about ending support for Windows Phone version of its app.
This seems to be the season of shutting down products. Following in the footsteps of Google, which recently shut down Google+, Inbox by Gmail, and Allo, Facebook is going to retire three of its apps on April 30. Following the shutdown, the mobile Web versions of the services or third-party apps will be sole way to access these services from Windows Phone or Windows 10 Mobile devices.
The upcoming end of support for Facebook apps was first reported by Engadget, which has got confirmation from Microsoft about the impending demise of these applications.
Facebook's decision to end support for these apps is hardly surprising given the Windows Phone platform is officially dead. Even Microsoft will stop supporting the latest version of Windows 10 Mobile – 1709 – in December this year. The phones with Windows 10 Mobile 1703 will lose support in June itself. Many of the major apps have already stopped supporting Windows Phone devices.
It is unclear how many consumers are still using Windows Phone devices, but the number of unlikely to be significant.
