Popular instant messaging app WhatsApp will cease working on older smartphone models come the 1st of November.
The Facebook-owned app, which regularly phases out support for older devices, will unleash its latest cull within two months, meaning the app will stop working on 43 older smartphone models.
WhatsApp, which has added a swathe of new features this year, will stop supporting the app on older models in a bid to keep the app secure, according to media reports.
WhatsApp is officially the world's most popular international instant messaging platform, with approximately two billion users around the globe.
It outranks Facebook's Messenger, which has 1.3 billion users, and WeChat, which has 1.2 billion users, according to Statista.
What phones WILL WhatsApp work on?
According to WhatsApp’s FAQ page, the app will keep working for:
· Androids running OS 4.1 and newer
· iPhones running iOS 10 and newer
· Select phones running KaiOS 2.5.1 newer, including JioPhone and JioPhone 2
43 devices to lose access to WhatsApp: Full list
If your phone is on this list, you won’t be able to access WhatsApp after 1 November:
Apple
· iPhone SE, 6S and 6S Plus.
Samsung
· Samsung Galaxy Trend Lite, Galaxy Trend II, Galaxy SII, Galaxy S3 mini, Galaxy Xcover 2, Galaxy Core and Galaxy Ace 2.
LG
· LG Lucid 2, Optimus F7, Optimus F5, Optimus L3 II Dual, Optimus F5, Optimus L5, Optimus L5 II, Optimus L5 Dual, Optimus L3 II, Optimus L7, Optimus L7 II Dual, Optimus L7 II, Optimus F6, Enact , Optimus L4 II Dual, Optimus F3, Optimus L4 II, Optimus L2 II, Optimus Nitro HD and 4X HD, and Optimus F3Q.
ZTE
· ZTE Grand S Flex, ZTE V956, Grand X Quad V987 and Grand Memo.
Huawei
· Huawei Ascend G740, Ascend Mate, Ascend D Quad XL, Ascend D1 Quad XL, Ascend P1 S, and Ascend D2.
Sony
· Sony Xperia Miro, Sony Xperia Neo L, Xperia Arc S.
Others
· Alcatel One Touch Evo 7, Archos 53 Platinum, HTC Desire 500, Caterpillar Cat B15, Wiko Cink Five, Wiko Darknight, Lenovo A820, UMi X2, Faea F1 and THL W8.
What can I do if my phone is on this list?
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much you can do to salvage WhatsApp if you are using one of the devices listed above.
The most obvious answer would be to purchase a new device if you want to continue using it.
Once you lose access to the app on your old device, you’ll lose your chat history, too, according to WhatsApp’s FAQ page.
“There's no option to transfer your chat history between platforms,” it states.
“However, we provide the option to export your chat history as an email attachment.”
New feature to transfer chat history
Popular messaging app WhatsApp has introduced a new feature that enables subscribers to transfer their chat history across operating systems.
In a tweet, the app owned by Facebook said from Friday, subscribers can move their chat history from iOS to Samsung phones. This means when subscribers change phones, they will not lose the chats, photos and other media they had shared on their old phones.
The feature will soon be available across all devices, the tweet added. This will help users to switch phones without losing their WhatsApp data, even when the operating systems are different.