WhatsApp won't work on these smartphones from February 2020
What's the story
WhatsApp will withdraw support for a number of dated smartphones by early next year. The Facebook-owned company has announced that the messaging platform will stop working on Windows Phones after the end of this year.
Moreover, the app will also become unusable on some older versions of Android and iOS from February 2020.
Here are more details.
End of support
WhatsApp bids adieu to Windows platform
WhatsApp has said that it would withdraw support for all Windows-based phones after December 31. This means if you own a Nokia Lumia or a similar handset, you may not be able to create a new account from January 2020.
The primary reason for stopping support for these devices is because WhatsApp will no longer actively develop for Windows Phone OS.
Other platforms
Older Android, iOS phones will also lose support
WhatsApp will also stop working on devices running Android 2.3.7 and older as well as iOS 7 and older after February 1, 2020.
That means, if your device is running on an outdated operating system you won't be able to use WhatsApp from early next year.
Hence, you should upgrade your device's software or get a new handset that runs the latest OS.
Official word
Will WhatsApp stop working on these phones after service ends?
No, WhatsApp will not immediately stop working but the app will not receive any further updates. Moreover, you may not be able to create a new account or re-verify an existing one.
The company has said that it "will no longer actively develop for these platforms" and some of the features "may stop functioning at any time."
New experiences
WhatsApp is introducing new features for latest operating systems
While WhatsApp is ending support for a bunch of devices, it is constantly improving its services as it continues to serve over 1.5 billion users across all platforms.
For the latest Android and iOS operating systems, the company is introducing new Group Privacy settings, fingerprint authentication, dark mode, and self-disappearing messages, among other features. Moreover, WhatsApp is also developing new multi-device support.