It’s a wrap for BBM messaging service as the company has announced it will be closing BBM consumer service on 31 May 2019. The reason for shutting down the service was the very fluid nature of the technology industry and difficulty in signing on new users.
“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,” a statement from Emtek, managers of BBM read.
In 2016, BlackBerry licensed BBM Consumer to Emtek as part of its transition into a growing billion-dollar security software company – whose technology today is used by the world’s largest public and private organizations, as well as embedded in drones, planes, MRI machines, industrial equipment, and more than 120 million vehicles on the road today.
“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.”
Introducing BB(Me)
Responding to the decision to shut down BBM, BlackBerry said it is making BBM Enterprise (BBMe), its enterprise-grade end-to-end encrypted messaging platform, available for individual use.
“This decision was made out of BlackBerry’s respect for loyal BBM users and was not a contractual obligation. It will not affect the company’s financial guidance and enterprise software strategy,” BlackBerry stated.
“While we respect Emtek’s decision, we’re disappointed the platform did not thrive and grow as expected,” said Mark Wilson, Chief Marketing Officer, BlackBerry. “After much consideration, we decided that BBM’s loyal users should continue to have a secure messaging platform that they can trust.”
Users can download BBMe from Android’s Google Play store. It will be available in the Apple App Store soon. BBMe will be available for free for the first year. After the first year, a 6-month subscription will be available for USD $2.49.
For 35 years, BlackBerry has provided a secure way for people to communicate.
