Millions of phones using older versions of Android and iOS will soon no longer support WhatsApp due to a major update with the popular messaging app.
Starting February 1, 2020, WhatsApp application can no longer run on several phones with the old operating system.
“For the following operating systems, you can no longer create new accounts, nor reverify existing accounts,” WhatsApp wrote in a blog post.
“For the best experience, we recommend you use the latest version of iOS [or Android] available for your phone.”
The WhatsApp application from 1 February 2020 can no longer be used on the Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread operating system and earlier versions of Android.
While for iOS or iPhone devices, WhatsApp cannot run on iOS 8 and below. These are the iPhones that came out before the release of iOS 8, together with whether they support the newer software:
- iPhone 6/ iPhone 6 Plus – Can update to iOS 9 to support WhatsApp
- iPhone 5/ iPhone 5s/ iPhone 5c – Can update to iOS 9 to support WhatsApp
- iPhone 4s – Can update to iOS 9 to support WhatsApp
- iPhone 4 and older – Cannot update to iOS 9 and will lose support for WhatsApp
“Because we are no longer developing for the operating system, some features might not be able to be used at any time,” WhatsApp said.
WhatsApp, one of Facebook’s platforms, can be used for Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich and the latest, and iPhones that use iOS 9 and above.
Other phones that can still use WhatsApp are KaiOS 2.5.1 and above, including JioPhone and JioPhone 2.
