Facebook Messenger stops working on a series of smartphones

The world's largest social network has announced that handsets running Windows Phone 8.1 and above will no longer have access to the Messenger messaging app from March 31.

Facebook will end support for Messenger on some smartphones by April 1.

Microsoft's Windows Phone mobile platform is nowhere near as popular as Android or iOS, and Facebook's decision comes as little surprise.

Despite being owned by Microsoft, online messaging and video calling app Skype followed WhatsApp's lead and stopped supporting Windows Phone earlier this month.

Facebook has begun notifying affected smartphone users via email.

“Using older versions of the app means experiences won’t work well or sometimes won’t show up at all,” Facebook warned users in a blog post.

"Therefore, we ask that people who are using older versions upgrade so they can enjoy more of Messenger's great features."

Facebook recommends that Windows Phone 8.1 users update their operating system or switch to Facebook Lite.

Windows Phone 8.1 users will still have access to Facebook through their browser, but won't be able to message friends without Messenger./

According to Vietnam+