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WhatsApp will stop working on your phone this month – Check if you’ll be affected


Earlier last week WhatsApp turned seven years old. As it marked this huge milestone, the world’s most popular messaging app with over a billion users made some announcement that will probably not go down well with some users.

In what it is calling a technology upgrade, WhatsApp says come 2017, it will stop working on older phones.

‘’As we look ahead to our next seven years, we want to focus our efforts on the mobile platforms the vast majority of people use.’’ the company said.

WhatsApp has set the deadline of the end of 2016 when these older devices will not be supported.

‘’While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future,’’ WhatsApp said

‘’This was a tough decision for us to make, but the right one in order to give people better ways to keep in touch with friends, family, and loved ones using WhatsApp.’’

If you use one of these affected mobile devices, WhatsApp is recommending you to upgrade to a newer phone before the end of 2016 to continue using WhatsApp.

Below are the affected devices

  • BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10
  • Nokia S40
  • Nokia Symbian S60
  • Android 2.1 and Android 2.2
  • Windows Phone 7
  • iPhone 3GS/iOS 6

Read: After WhatsApp, Facebook is also ditching support for BlackBerry

Earlier on, WhatsApp had already announced that it was planning to stop support for BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, Nokia S40 and Nokia Symbian S60. It, however, appears that the company has a change of heart after announcing that it is extending support for this devices until June 30, 2017.

Well, now if you are going to be affected by the decision above from the Facebook-owned company then you have the month of December to upgrade to a new Windows, Android or iPhone device.

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Nixon Kanali

Tech journalist based in Nairobi. I track and report on tech and African startups. Founder and Editor of TechTrends Media. Nixon is also the East African tech editor for Africa Business Communities. Send tips to nkanali@techtrendske.co.ke.

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