What you need to know
- WhatsApp has ended support for iOS 9.
- You'll now need to be on iOS 10 or later to run the service.
WhatsApp has confirmed it is ending support for iOS 9 on the iPhone, with users required to be on iOS 10 or later to use the service.
As indicated in a newly published support document, WhatsApp has ended support for iOS 9 and earlier versions of Apple's mobile operating system, requiring all users to be running at least iOS 10, released in 2016.
From WhatsApp:
We provide support for and recommend using the following devices:Android running OS 4.0.3 and newer iPhone running iOS 10 and newer Select phones running KaiOS 2.5.1 newer, including JioPhone and JioPhone 2 Once you have one of these devices, install WhatsApp and register your phone number. WhatsApp can only be activated with one phone number on one device at a time.Furthermore, there's no option to transfer your chat history between platforms. However, we provide the option to export your chat history as an email attachment.
As the report notes, the change will affect users of the iPhone 4S for the most part, but this is still only a tiny percentage of iPhone users. In December Apple confirmed that 81% of iPhone users are running iOS 14, with a further 17% on iOS 13 or earlier, which means that only 2% of iPhone users are running a version of iOS 12 or earlier.
Recently, the CEO of WhatsApp said that it was in Apple's strategic interest that its customers don't use WhatsApp, as it meant they were less likely to buy an iPhone because of the way iMessage works. You can read the full report here.
