WhatsApp, the world’s most popular messaging service, will be ending support for older platforms like iOS 7 which lack modern capabilities needed for its upcoming features.
You won’t be able to use WhatsApp on the following devices:
- iPhone iOS 7 and older, after February 1, 2020
- Nokia Symbian S60, after June 30, 2017
- BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10, after December 31, 2017
- Nokia S40, after December 31, 2018
- All Windows Phone versions, after December 31, 2019
- Android versions 2.3.7 and older, after February 1, 2020
Folks with older iPhones may be able to continue using the app after the cut-off date, but “some features may stop functioning at any time,” according to the updated support document. As a matter of fact, you can no longer create new accounts nor can you reverify existing accounts on iOS 7 and older and Android 2.37 and older. Furthermore, WhatsApp for all Windows Phone versions will stop working after December 31, 2019.
The company recommends using these devices:
- iPhone running iOS 8+
- Android running OS 4.0.3+
- Windows Phone 8.1+
- Select phones running KaiOS 2.5.1+, including JioPhone and JioPhone 2
In 2016, WhatsApp killed support for iPhone 3GS with iOS 6, BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10, Nokia S40, Nokia Symbian S60, Android 2.1-2.2 and Windows Phone 7.
Ever since it was acquired by Facebook in 2017 for $19 billion, a staggering amount for a messaging service that had 450 million monthly active users and 315 million daily active users at the time, WhatsApp has been picking up lots of new features.
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One of the recent updates to the app has brought the ability to protect your WhatsApp chats with Face ID or Touch ID. In addition, the messaging platform may be getting its own iPad app soon. Also in the news, Mark Zuckerberg recently announced a pivot to privacy that will see the company merge WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger into a unified messaging platform with end-to-end encryption, an iMessage-like layer for SMS and other perks.
Are you still carrying an older iPhone?
If so, you won’t be able to take advantage of the upcoming new features in WhatsApp although you will be able to install the most-recent supported version of the app for your version of iOS.