Is BBM Back in 2026? Waitberry Brings Back the BlackBerry Messenger Experience

Is BBM back? That question has been popping up again after discussions about Waitberry Messenger started attracting attention on social media, including Threads.

For anyone who experienced the golden era of BlackBerry, the name Waitberry may immediately bring back memories of BB PINs, BlackBerry Hub notifications, chat messages, typing indicators, and the feeling of having a BlackBerry as your primary communication device.

But hold on. This does not mean that BlackBerry has officially brought BBM back.

What is actually happening is more interesting. An independent developer has been working on a project called Waitberry Messenger, or WBM, which aims to recreate the classic BlackBerry Messenger experience for BlackBerry users.

What Is Waitberry Messenger?

Waitberry Messenger is a messaging application designed to recreate the experience of using a messenger inspired by BlackBerry Messenger, particularly the look and feel of BBM from around 2014.

The Waitberry developer describes WBM as a visual recreation of BBM 2014, with many features designed to remind users of the classic BBM experience.

What makes it even more interesting is the identity system.

With WBM, users can register using a BlackBerry PIN and add other users through their PIN. In other words, one of the most recognizable features of the original BBM experience is making a comeback in this independent project.

For longtime BlackBerry users, this is more than just another messaging application.

It feels like opening a door back to an era when exchanging PINs was almost as common as asking someone for their phone number.

Why Does WBM Feel Like BBM?

The answer is in the details.

WBM is not simply using the BlackBerry name to attract attention. The project is actually designed around the classic BBM experience.

Features that have appeared during WBM's development include:

• Registration using a device or system-generated PIN.
• Adding other users through their PIN.
• One-to-one chat.
• Typing indicators.
• Read status.
• Image attachments.
• Contact status.
• User profiles.
• Classic-style emojis.
• Light and dark modes.
• Notifications that can integrate with BlackBerry Hub in certain scenarios.

In later Waitberry updates, the developer has also mentioned calling support between BlackBerry devices.

That is exactly why the phrase “BBM is back” is so easy to understand when people talk about WBM on social media.

Is This the Official BBM From BlackBerry?

No.

This is the most important part to understand.

Waitberry Messenger is a third-party project. It is not an official BBM application relaunched by BlackBerry Limited.

The original consumer version of BBM ended its service on May 31, 2019. BlackBerry has also listed BBM Consumer among its services that reached end-of-life.

Therefore, calling WBM “the official return of BBM” would be misleading.

A more accurate description would be “Waitberry recreates the BBM experience” or “a BBM-style messenger for legacy BlackBerry devices.”

The Most Nostalgic Part: The PIN

This may be the feature that makes longtime BlackBerry users smile the most.

Back in the day, when someone asked, “What's your BB PIN?”, everyone immediately knew what they meant.

The PIN served as a unique identity for communication without having to share a phone number.

That concept feels very different from today's messaging ecosystem, where most platforms rely on phone numbers, usernames, email addresses, or platform-specific accounts.

WBM attempts to bring some of that experience back.

Imagine taking an old BlackBerry Q10, Q20 Classic, Z10, or another BB10 device out of a drawer. Instead of being nothing more than a piece of technology from another era, the device could once again have a messenger that feels familiar.

For former BlackBerry users, that kind of experience cannot easily be replaced by a simple emulator.

Can Old BlackBerry Devices Still Be Useful in 2026?

This is where Waitberry becomes particularly interesting.

Even in 2026, there is still a community of BlackBerry users trying to keep older BB10 devices useful for everyday activities. Some users rely on third-party projects to bring modern services and functionality to hardware that manufacturers stopped supporting years ago.

Waitberry is not developing only a messenger.

Its ecosystem also includes applications and projects such as Instant, Discord, Maps, Reddit, Weather, Translate, News, and several other tools.

That means the bigger idea behind Waitberry is not simply nostalgia. It is an attempt to make older BlackBerry hardware useful again in a modern environment.

Why Is WBM Getting Attention Again?

There is a simple reason: technology nostalgia has become a powerful trend.

People are not only looking for smartphones with faster processors and bigger displays. Some users are becoming interested in older devices because those products offered experiences that modern smartphones no longer provide.

BlackBerry is one of the clearest examples.

Physical keyboards, BlackBerry Hub, distinctive hardware designs, and the PIN-based communication system made BlackBerry feel completely different from Android and iPhone devices.

When a project like Waitberry Messenger attempts to recreate part of that experience, it naturally attracts the attention of former BlackBerry users.

And the story is easy to understand.

“Wait, is BBM back?”

That single question is enough to make people curious.

Can Waitberry Messenger Replace WhatsApp?

For most users, definitely not.

WhatsApp has a massive user base, a mature ecosystem, broad cross-platform support, and infrastructure that is on a completely different scale.

WBM belongs to a different category.

Its main purpose is closer to bringing back the classic BBM communication experience while giving older BlackBerry devices a new reason to stay useful.

So you probably should not buy an old BlackBerry simply because you expect every modern application to work on it.

However, for people who genuinely enjoy BlackBerry and want a secondary device with a unique experience, WBM could be another reason to take that old device out of storage.

What About Waitberry Messenger Security?

This is where users should remain cautious.

Unlike major messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, WBM is an independent project operating on a much smaller scale. Users should therefore not automatically assume that it has the same level of security auditing, infrastructure transparency, and long-term support as major commercial messaging platforms.

For third-party software running on legacy hardware, the safest approach is simple: avoid using highly sensitive information until you understand how the service handles and transmits your data.

Use the application responsibly, especially while the project continues to evolve.

Interesting for BlackBerry Fans and Collectors

If you still have a BlackBerry Classic, Q10, Q5, Z10, Z30, Passport, or another BB10 device sitting somewhere at home, projects like Waitberry provide something that has been missing for years: a reason to turn the device on again.

Not necessarily as a complete replacement for your main smartphone, but as a device with a distinctive experience.

And that is exactly what makes this interesting.

At a time when many smartphones are beginning to feel increasingly similar, older BlackBerry devices still have a strong identity.

The physical keyboard feels different.

The interface feels different.

And now, the classic messenger experience is being recreated as well.

If you're also interested in how technology trends and search demand can create new opportunities, you can explore this related guide about trending keywords in 2026.

Waitberry Is Bigger Than BBM Nostalgia

When you look at the Waitberry project as a whole, the story becomes bigger than just BBM nostalgia.

It is an example of how a small developer community can continue finding ways to keep old hardware useful long after official software support has ended.

This idea is interesting for the wider technology industry as well.

Older devices do not necessarily have to become useless simply because their original software ecosystem has disappeared.

As long as developers and communities are willing to experiment, older hardware can sometimes get a second life.

So, Is BBM Really Back?

Officially, no.

BBM Consumer remains a discontinued service.

But in terms of the experience, the spirit of BBM is getting something of a second life through projects such as Waitberry Messenger.

And that is what makes WBM interesting.

The developer is not pretending to be BlackBerry. Instead, the project takes an experience that many former users still remember fondly and attempts to rebuild it using technology that can work with legacy devices.

The result?

A messenger with a BBM-inspired experience that can make an old BlackBerry feel like it has a reason to be switched on again.

Final Verdict

Waitberry Messenger is not the official return of BBM from BlackBerry. It is a third-party project that attempts to recreate the BlackBerry Messenger experience, including the classic visual style, PIN-based identity, chat, message status, attachments, and, in later development, calling between BlackBerry devices.

For longtime BlackBerry users, that is still exciting news.

Not because BBM has officially returned, but because there is still a developer community willing to preserve the unique experience of a platform that the mainstream smartphone industry left behind years ago.

So when you see people on Threads saying “BBM is back,” don't immediately assume that BlackBerry has officially relaunched its old messenger.

The more accurate version is:

BBM has not officially returned, but the BBM experience is being brought back by Waitberry.

And for former BlackBerry users, perhaps there is only one word that perfectly captures the feeling:

“PING!”

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Sources: Waitberry, BlackBerry documentation, and the BlackBerry community.

Note: Waitberry Messenger is a third-party project and is not officially affiliated with BlackBerry or BBM.