WhatsApp ends support for Windows Phones

New year, new phone? WhatsApp finally ends support for Windows Phones, which aren't even on the market anymore. — CHONG JINN XIUNG/The Star

WhatsApp has ended its service for Windows Phones as part of its latest round of phasing out older operating systems.

The instant messaging service said it is also halting support for Android OS older than version 2.3.7 and iOS 8 or older for Apple devices after Feb 1.

It added that for those operating systems, users can no longer create new accounts, nor re-verify existing accounts.

This means users who are still using WhatsApp on older devices can continue to do so, but they won’t be able to switch back to those devices once they decide to migrate to a newer device.

“Because we no longer actively develop for these operating systems, some features might stop functioning at any time,” warns WhatsApp.

For users who want to keep using the service but are not on Android or iOS phones, an alternative is to use phones running on KaiOS 2.5.1+.

This usually includes feature phones, such as Nokia’s updated "banana phone" the 8110 or certain models of the JioPhone.