Overview
- Compatibility will be withdrawn in stages, with affected phones first losing new features before access is fully disabled.
- WhatsApp’s minimum requirement moves to Android 5.0 or later, with several older iPhone models reported as no longer supported in 2026.
- Media have circulated examples of impacted devices, though WhatsApp has not issued a single exhaustive official list of all models.
- Users are urged to back up their chats to Google Drive or iCloud and to update the OS or migrate to a newer phone to preserve access and data.
- Some devices may display in‑app alerts about the cutoff, and the impact can vary by region depending on whether late system updates are available.