Millions of phones using the well-known messaging app WhatsApp are going to stop functioning.
After December 31 those using older iPhone and Android handsets won’t be able to access the app without an upgrade.
On 49 different phone brands, including the iPhone 5 or 5c and various Huawei, LG, and Samsung devices, WhatsApp will no longer work.
WhatsApp will nonetheless send a warning to users of those phones before it stops functioning.
‘Devices and software change often, so we regularly review what operating systems we support and make updates,’ the messaging app said.
‘These devices also might not have the latest security updates, or might lack the functionality required to run WhatsApp.’
‘To choose what to stop supporting, every year we, like other technology companies, look at which devices and software are the oldest and have the fewest number of people still using them.’
To update your operating system on an iPhone go to the ‘general’ settings and select ‘software update’.
You will need a newer phone if your device cannot run the latest software.
WhatsApp’s compatibility with iPhones running iOS 11 and earlier versions was discontinued in October.
‘To keep up with the latest advances in tech, we routinely stop supporting older operating systems to point our resources to supporting the latest ones,’ the messaging service said.
It introduced a new feature called “Message Yourself” in November, which, as the name implies, enables you to send notes, reminders, and updates to yourself.
With this feature, you may initiate a 1:1 chat within the WhatsApp app on both Android and iPhone.
It enables users to send notes, reminders, or shopping lists to oneself as well as keep track of their to-do lists.
Prior to that, WhatsApp introduced Communities, a new feature that allows you to message many groups at once.
Users can exchange updates across many group conversations by grouping them under a single subject and using the tool to do so.
“Today we’re launching Communities on WhatsApp,” declared Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp.
By supporting sub-groups, numerous threads, announcement channels, and other features, it improves groups.
