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[Update] LinkedIn for Windows phones won't be retired after all

Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Update: Since this article went live, LinkedIn sent out a second email to say that Windows Phone users will be unaffected by their decision to shut down older app versions.

Sent out to Dennis Bednarz and others on Twitter, LinkedIn clarified that Windows Phone versions of their app won't be closed:

Still, hopefully Microsoft is working on a more feature-rich UWP version of their LinkedIn service. We'll just have to wait and see!

Original article:

It's likely been a long time coming given the lack of updates, but the LinkedIn app for Windows Phone is officially set to be retired on January 15. LinkedIn has started alerting those who use the app via email without actually mentioning Windows Phone by name. Instead, LinkedIn says it is retiring "older versions" of its apps, and recommends that users switch to either the Android or iOS app.

LinkedIn app for Windows Phone set to retire on January 15

From the email:

At the end of 2015 we launched a new version of our mobile and tablet app, bringing you everything you love about LinkedIn into a simplified, smarter and more intuitive experience.

It looks like you have used the older version of our app in the last few months and we wanted to let you know that we will no longer be supporting this older version after January 15, 2017. We hope that you'll consider upgrading to our new app, which is available on the following mobile operating systems:

  • iOS8 and higher (iPhone 5 and above)
  • Android Ice Cream Sandwich MR1 (4.0.3/API level 15)

Ahead of January 15, LinkedIn says you should start seeing pop-ups asking you to upgrade to its newer apps. This leaves Windows Phone users in a bit of a pickle because, despite the fact that LinkedIn is now under Microsoft's purview following its $26.2 billion acquisition in December, there doesn't appear to be a new Windows app in sight for the moment. That doesn't mean Microsoft isn't working on something, but we haven't heard word of a UWP app or anything yet.

Until a potential replacement surfaces, you'll be best served by using LinkedIn's mobile site if you're using a Windows Phone once the app stops working.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!