WhatsApp giveth and WhatsApp taketh away. While the popular private messaging app recently offered iPad compatibility (more than 15 years after the service launched), it has now ended support for iPhones running iOS versions older than iOS 15.1.
WhatsApp is no longer compatible with iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus models, meaning owners of those device won’t be able to join encrypted chats on the service unless they buy a newer iPhone. The change kicked in on June 1, after Meta delayed the change from its previously planned date of May 5.
Users can still visit web.whatsapp.com in their iPhone browser.
If you are one of the affected WhatsApp users and you decide to upgrade to a newer iPhone, you can backup your WhatsApp chats to iCloud and restore your chats and media history to a newer device using WhatsApp’s Chat Transfer feature. You can find instructions on how to do so in WhatsApp’s Help Center.
In somewhat related news Meta has confirmed that an iPad version of its Instagram app is also in the works.
(Via MacRumors)
