Instant messaging app WhatsApp will stop its service to many smartphones running on older versions of mobile operating systems by end 2016.
Instant messaging is a very popular way of being in touch with friends and family. WhatsApp messenger can be used to send text messages, documents, make calls and more using Internet connection.
The Most Popular Instant Messaging App
WhatsApp was the leading instant messaging client in the entire world, according to SimilarWeb — a British information company.
"Using Android data from 187 countries, we were able to determine the most popular messaging app all over the world," says SimilarWeb. "Of the 187 countries that SimilarWeb examined, WhatsApp was the world leader claiming 109 countries, or 55.6% of the world."
In February this year, WhatsApp announced that its services are being used by 1 billion users across the world.
Stopping Services To Smartphones With Older Software Versions
Although, WhatsApp is being used by about 1 billion people around the world, the service will be discontinued for some smartphone customers.
A company spokesperson revealed that WhatsApp will stop its services to mobile phones running on Android 2.2 Froyo, iOS 6 and Windows Phone 7 (and older versions of these three operating systems).
The announcement may affect only a small number of WhatsApp users as regular software updates have already been rolled out to smartphones throughout the world. According to Apple, 63 percent of iOS devices are running on iOS 10, 29 percent on iOS 9 and only 8 percent on previous versions of iOS. This data was measured by the Apple Store on Nov. 27.
According to Android data, only 0.1 percent of all Android mobile devices are running on Android 2.2 Froyo.
"While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they do not offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app's features in the future," says a WhatsApp spokesperson. "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."
Last Date For Older Software Versions
WhatsApp will be available to older versions of the Android, Windows Phone and iOS only till Dec. 31, 2016.
After this date, non-compatible devices will not be able to use WhatsApp.
Customers who have devices on older software versions that are incompatible with WhatsApp will have to upgrade to a new device that is WhatsApp compatible.
