WhatsApp has announced that it will stop supporting “outdated” phones including models by Apple, Windows, Nokia and Android devices by December-end. Officials from the world’s most popular messaging service said an upgrade in its technology would translate to an incompatibility with older smartphones.

The seven-year-old Facebook-owned company said that by the end of 2016, the service will end support for mobile platforms that use Android 2.1 and Android 2.2, Windows Phones and the iPhone 3GS/iOS 6. It will extend its services for BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, Nokia S40 and Nokia Symbian S60 until June 30, 2017.

A WhatsApp spokesperson said, “While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future,” The Mirror reported.

The company’s blog said, “This was a tough decision for us to make, but the right one in order to give people better ways to keep in touch. If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone before the end of 2016.”