While popular messaging platform WhatsApp last updated its blog post regarding WhatsApp app support on mobile devices in May, it later added new information to its FAQ page, which now talks about a partial end of support for iOS 8. In other words, WhatsApp won’t allow account verification on iOS 8 devices after February 1, 2020. This will affect WhatsApp users who have not updated their iPhones to iOS 9 since its release in September 2015.
While WhatsApp’s blog post update from May this year reads, “You won't be able to use WhatsApp on the following platforms for: iPhone iOS 7 and older after February 1, 2020”, its FAQ page now says that on iOS 8 and older versions, “you can no longer create new accounts, nor reverify existing accounts.” It also adds, “You'll no longer be able to use all Windows Phone operating systems after December 31, 2019, and WhatsApp might not be available in the Microsoft Store after July 1, 2019.”
What this means is that if you’re using WhatsApp on iOS 8, you won’t be able to delete your account and re-register on the same device on or after February 1, 2020. You also won’t be able to perform new registrations on the device after that specified date. To get full support for WhatsApp, consider upgrading to iOS 9 or later. The current version of Apple’s mobile operating system is iOS 13.1, which the Cupertino-based company rolled out to its supported list of iOS devices a few days ago. You can read more about iOS 13 here.
If you’re still on iOS 8 on your iPhone, it’s likely you own one of the following models: iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 6, or iPhone 6 Plus. All of these models can be upgraded to a newer version of iOS, which you can begin to do by heading to Settings > General > Software Update on your iPhone. To update your iPhone, you’ll want to plug it into a wall outlet and connect to a steady Wi-Fi network. You’ll also need up to 4GB of free space on your iPhone to perform an update to the latest version of iOS.