Once-popular messaging app BBM reached the end of the road, with rights holder Emtek planning to axe the service on 31 May due to difficulty replacing users which are moving to other platforms.

The Indonesian company has owned the BBM licence since 2016. In a statement, it said 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”.

“Three years ago, we set out to reinvigorate BBM consumer service as a cross-platform service where users can not only chat and share life experiences, but also consume content and use payment services…We poured our hearts into making this a reality, and we are proud of what we have built,” it added.

Parent BlackBerry said that in light of Emtek’s decision, it will make its end-to-end encrypted messaging platform BBM Enterprise (BBMe) available for individual use.

“While we respect Emtek’s decision, we’re disappointed the platform did not thrive and grow as expected,” said BlackBerry CMO Mark Wilson.

“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 the Google Play store, with an iOS version expected soon. It will be free for the first year of use, after which a six-month subscription will cost $2.49.