A number of WhatsApp users may soon find themselves blocked from using the popular instant messaging (IM) service - with two more devices becoming completely incompatible next month.
Some iPhone users may be forced to upgrade their devices should they wish to continue using the application, with owners Meta confirming that it would be dropping support for any iPhones which are unable to run iOS 12.
This means bad news for WhatsApp users who have an iPhone 5 or colourful 5c in their pocket.
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The Express reports that these ageing devices will no longer run the popular programme from next month, with them becoming completely incompatible with the demands of the IM service. The change was initially spotted by the team at WABetainfo - who often reveal the latest changes coming to the app.
And it appears that incompatible platforms are already receiving alerts, reading: "Update to the latest version of iOS to continue using WhatsApp. WhatsApp will stop supporting this version of iOS after 24 Oct 2022."
Along with the in-phone pop-up, WhatsApp have also updated their support page online, which states: "Currently, we provide support for and recommend using the following devices: Android running OS 4.1 and newer, iPhone running iOS 12 and newer."
Why are Meta and WhatsApp making the change?
It's became a fairly common occurrence over the years that the messaging firm drop support for older devices, with the company stating that they need to focus on upgrades for the majority of their users. As time passes, older models are less frequently used - therefore it makes business sense to stop updating them.
WhatsApp say that they carefully consider which devices to continue to support year in year out, and it seems that 2022 will wave goodbye to the ones which sport iOS 10 and iOS 11 software.
"Devices and software change often, so we regularly review what operating systems we support and make updates," WhatsApp said.
"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. These devices also might not have the latest security updates, or might lack the functionality required to run WhatsApp."
Here are all the iPhones that are compatible with iOS 12 and later:
- iPhone 5S
- iPhone 6/6 Plus
- iPhone 6S/6S Plus
- iPhone SE (1st generation)
- iPhone 7/7 Plus
- iPhone 8/8 Plus
- iPhone X
- iPhone XS/XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone 11 range
- iPhone 12 range
- iPhone 13 range
Along with WhatsApp dropping support for some older iPhones, Apple has also announced that its new iOS 16 upgrade won't be available for everyone. A total of five iPhones and one iPod won't be able to download this upgrade, which features a new Lock Screen and improved messages, once it's released with the original iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus all losing compatibility along with the iPod Touch.
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