WhatsApp will stop working on certain iPhone models in just one week. The company announced this deadline earlier this year, and now the shutdown is imminent. As a result, millions of users will soon lose access to the messaging app. The world’s most popular chat app, with 2.5 billion users, has confirmed that it will discontinue support for older iPhone models starting May 5, 2025. If you’re using one of these iPhones, yours will be added to the ‘block list.’
Which All iPhones Will Be Impacted
WhatsApp continues to introduce advanced features for all users, but some older devices cannot keep up because their hardware is outdated. When this happens, the messaging app stops supporting those platforms. Soon, some popular iPhone models will also lose access to WhatsApp for the same reason.
Starting next week, WhatsApp will require iPhones to have at least iOS 15.1 to work. If your iPhone can’t be updated to iOS 15.1 or a newer version, you won’t be able to send or receive messages on WhatsApp anymore. By discontinuing support for older versions, WhatsApp can optimise its app and introduce innovative functionalities that would be incompatible with outdated operating systems, the tipster adds.
Right now, WhatsApp works on all iPhones with iOS 12 or newer. But after the update, these iPhones will no longer support WhatsApp:
- iPhone 5S
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- What Happened
What Should They Do?
WhatsApp users who want to keep using the app after May 5 will need to switch to a newer iPhone. Now, the oldest iPhones that still support WhatsApp are the iPhone 8 and iPhone X. However, these two models stopped getting software updates from Apple after iOS 16 launched in September 2022. So, it is likely that WhatsApp will also stop supporting them in the near future.
How Will The Change Impact
The change will also affect WhatsApp Business, which is a version of the app designed for small businesses. It offers many of the same features as regular WhatsApp, helping businesses easily communicate with their customers. WhatsApp recently introduced a new advanced privacy feature that prevents people in chats and groups from copying your messages and media like photos and videos. The app already has features like chat lock and disappearing messages to keep your conversations safe. However, this new tool offers even stronger protection, making sure your chats and photos stay secure and don’t leave the app.
