TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - After denying reports that its ChatOn service was close to be disbanded on a region-by-region basis, Samsung finally announced shut down for the service by February 1 next year, End Gadget reported.

"Under changes in the services operation policy, ChatOn will be closed as of 9 a.m. on Feb. 1, 2015," the South Korean tech firm said as quoted by Yonhap News.

"The move came in line with efforts to meet the changing demands in the market and provide differentiated services to users, focusing on other areas such as health and mobile commerce.”

Samsung asserted that users will be able to back up their data such as chat records, photos and videos shared through the messenger before the suspension.

According yo Endgadget, Chat On service will be ceased in all markets except for the United States. In the US, it will shut down at some point in Q1, but a date has not yet been announced.

Launched in October 2011, ChatOn had been available in 200 countries in various mobile platforms, including Android, iOS, BlackBerry and Windows. The service, however, failed to garner a big market presence.

ERWIN Z. | ENGADGET | YONHAPNEWS