Social media apps have become a crucial part of our day-to-day lives. Post the pandemic, the use of at least one of these platforms has become a necessity.
Whether it is work from home or attending online classes, having a social media account is a must.
The need is so much prominent that an internet shutdown or an app crash can cause a lot of chaos. People have become accustomed to run their daily livelihoods through these apps. WhatsApp, for one, is the most used messaging app globally.
Since the start of 2021, WhatsApp has been surrounded by many controversies. The app received a lot of backlash for its latest privacy policy updates.
Many people took to social media to openly oppose the app’s new policies. The app also witnessed a huge number of users uninstalling the app and using the rival Signal & Telegram app. Certain global celebrities also came forth to oppose the app’s decision.
However, the app still remains the top online messaging app across app stores with over 2 billion monthly active users. With its frequent updates and UI improvements, it has become impossible to remove the app at large despite the backlash.
WhatsApp has recently announced that will soon start removing support for some Android, iOS, and KaiOS devices running on old OS versions.
Android smartphones that will no longer receive an update include Samsung Galaxy SII, Galaxy S3 mini, Optimus L5 Dual, Optimus L4 II Dual, Optimus F7, Optimus F5, and more. As of iOS, any iPhone running on operating systems older than iOS 10 will also not receive the latest update.
iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, Apple iPhone SE (1st generation) will stop supporting the messaging application.
The app will roll out the cancellation of usage from 1 November onwards on certain smartphones. WhatsApp does support a wide variety of devices, the company does occasionally increase the minimum version of Android, which was previously at Android 4.0 which is codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich.
As per the company’s website, the app will only support devices running Android 4.1. This means that the devices produced after 2013 should continue to work with WhatsApp for the foreseeable future. Post 1st November, users on these older devices will no longer receive updates to WhatsApp on their smartphones.
