WhatsApp to stop working on thousands of phones from February 1

WhatsApp is one of the most popular instant messaging service in the globe and has more than 1.5 billion users. Thousand of Smartphone users in the United Kingdom will no more be able to use the service from this weekend. The messaging service is taking back the support from the handsets that operate on the older operating systems.

The Facebook owned app is will be taking back support from the Android phones and iPhones that continue to operate with the outdated software. The devices that will be affected include the iPhones which run on the iOS 8 or older versions. People who are using the iPhone 4 will also no longer having access to the messaging app as the phones can no longer update to a newer software. iPhone 5 and the newer devices will be able to retain access. One of the data analyst firm has found that there about 15,000 to 20,000 iPhones which are either outdated or are using older software and have all the potential to be affected in the UK.

Apart from the iOS, even Android phones are expected to be affected. The devices that are using on the versions of the Google’s operating system that was released in 2010 or before will no longer be able to receive updates. Gingerbread Operating system known as the 2.3.7 was also used for the phones like the Samsung Galaxy S2 and the HTC Desire HD due to which millions of smartphones are expected to be affected in a global level. In UK alone thousands of smartphones are expected to be affected.

WhatsApp has said that the movie will come to effect from February 1, 2020. The company has also warned the users of the older devices and softwares that the hackers might try to take advantage of the loopholes of the older devices and software and even try to steal personal details of the users.

Photo Credits:  Jakarta Post