Millions of people can no longer access WhatsApp. Here’s why

If you have an iphone 4 then from this week, you will no longer be able to access WhatsApp.

And that’s because the company has ended support for the iOS version 7.

This could come as a surprise for many with the older version of the iPhone, as the company had previously said it would continue to support iOS 7 until 2020. However a new version of the app will only work on devices with iOS 8 or later installed.

To be specific, the Facebook-owned messaging service on its new FAQ section for supported iPhone devices says that “WhatsApp for iPhone requires iOS 8 or later.” It adds that if users have WhatsApp active on devices running iOS 7.1.2, they will be able to use the app until February 1, 2020, however, they will not be able to create new accounts or reverify existing accounts. It reiterates that WhatsApp is not supported on iOS 6 and older versions.

“For older iPhones, the app would not get any new features and updates anymore and it is also possible that some already existing features may stop working,” said the report.

In a previous blog post, the company had claimed that the messaging app would stop functioning on iOS versions 7 and older after February 1, 2020.

WhatsApp has already stopped serving devices running on Nokia Symbian S60, BlackBerry OS and Windows Phone 8.0 and older.

The company would withdraw app support for Android versions 2.3.7 and older after February 1, 2020.