The Facebook owned popular messaging app will stop supporting millions of phones starting today as the company drops support for older smartphones.
Smartphones running on Android 2.3.7 and and iPhones on iOS 8 or older will no longer be supported by the popular messaging app.
This however does not mean that WhatsApp will stop working immediately on all these phones. The end of support means that it will continue to work with some features for a while until the old versions require a mandatory update at which point the app will no longer function.
Recently WhatsApp did the same to Windows Phone when it ended support for all Microsoft Windows Phone on the 31 Decemeber, 2019.
According to WhatsApp these steps are being taken to protect the users and maintain security.
The company says that they need to focus on the mobile platforms that the vast majority of people use and the newer features of the app can’t be compatible with the older devices.
The decision was announced by the company many months ago to give time to its users to upgrade their devices if they want to keep using the messaging services so it definitely isn’t an overnight decision by the company.
People who want to keep using WhatsApp will need to update their operating systems to newer versions or if not possible then upgrade their devices entirely.
In other WhatsApp related news, the company has been working hard introducing many new features to the app almost every other day.
One of the most awaited feature that is now available to beta users is the Dark Mode of Dark Theme.
Read more: WhatsApp Dark Theme is out for beta users.
Other functions include disappearing messaging or now known as Delete Messages. The function although originally intended to be released for individual and group chat was later made a feature only for WhatsApp group chats.
The purpose of this feature being able to clear out old group messages that keep piling up.
Read more: WhatsApp new features – Disappearing Messages.
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