Karachi: WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging applications in the world with more than 2 billion users worldwide, but within just a few hours, the Meta-owned platform WhatsApp will stop working on 3 popular phones.
WhatsApp will now only run on Apple devices that have iOS operating system 15.1 or later. Currently, any iPhone that is capable of running iOS 12 or later can use WhatsApp. Anyone who is using these 3 Apple devices will not be able to send or receive messages on WhatsApp from today.
From today, WhatsApp will only work on Apple devices running iOS 15.1 or later. The affected devices include the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Although these phones now make up a small portion of WhatsApp users, the decision will disappoint many fans of older devices.
A WhatsApp spokesperson told MailOnline that every year we look at which devices and software are the oldest and have the fewest users. These devices may not have the latest security updates, or may lack the functionality needed to run WhatsApp.
Currently, any iPhone running iOS 12 or later can use WhatsApp, but that will change when the Meta-owned company releases its next major software update. Devices that are not updated to at least iOS 15.1 or higher will not be able to use any of WhatsApp’s features.
It’s worth noting that Apple also stopped supporting these models some time ago. The oldest of the affected phones, the iPhone 5s, was released a decade ago in 2013, while the iPhone 6 Plus was released just a year later in 2014. All of these iPhone models were discontinued by Apple in 2016 and were officially declared obsolete.
Being on the obsolete product list means that Apple will no longer service, provide parts to service providers, or issue critical software and security updates for the device.
In addition to WhatsApp, Spotify and Instagram are already unavailable on all these older devices. WhatsApp has said that devices and software change frequently, so we regularly review which operating systems we support and update.
How to find out which operating system your phone has?
To check which operating system you are currently using, open the Settings app, select General, and tap the About tab. Under the Version heading, you will be able to see the current iOS number. If you need to update your iPhone, go to the tab labeled General and select Software Update.
Meta, on the other hand, said in a statement that Meta AI is an optional service from Meta through WhatsApp that can answer your questions, teach you something or help you with new ideas, however, as soon as the feature started rolling out to British users, many people were unhappy with the change.
One user on X wrote, “How do I get rid of Meta AI in WhatsApp? The button keeps hovering in the way and I will never use it,” while another user joked that such a big “Ask AI” button makes WhatsApp leave me alone for God’s sake.
