WhatsApp has confirmed plans to drop support for iOS 7.
The hugely popular messaging service, owned by Facebook, will continue to work for a little while yet. However, WhatsApp warns that it is no longer actively developing for iOS 7, and certain features could stop working at any time.
iOS has a better adoption rate than any other mobile platform. The vast majority of users update their devices within weeks of Apple releasing a new update. But if you’re still carrying an older iPhone, you may not be able to install more recent versions of iOS.
For instance, if you have an iPhone 4, or one of its predecessors, you can’t update beyond iOS 7. And that means that you’ll soon have to give up WhatsApp — or upgrade your phone.
WhatsApp won’t support iOS 7 in 2020
WhatsApp will drop support for iOS 7 in 2020, the service has confirmed.
WhatsApp wants to focus its efforts on making its service as good as it can be on the platforms the vast majority of people use, rather than ensuring compatibility for operating systems that are all but dead.
You should be able to continue using WhatsApp until 2020, but the company warns that “some features may stop functioning at any time” because it is no longer actively developing for iOS 7. The only solution? Upgrade your iPhone.
WhatsApp in 2020 will also drop support for Android Gingerbread. This version of Google’s platform will be 10 years old by then, but unlike iOS 7, it still serves a large number of people who never got an Android update.
