Whatsapp is the most popular messenger in Germany and is installed on thousands of devices. It is therefore negligent, but not surprising, that deceptive and false news also circulates on the Internet. Then the service itself had to give the green light.
WhatsApp support would end on nearly 50 devices
In English-language media and on German news sites, the same message has been seen many times in recent days: WhatsApp would no longer work on 49 mobile phones as of January 1, 2023. The reasons given were that iOS 13 and Android version 5 would now the minimum standard for support.
As a result, WhatsApp should no longer work on devices with Android 4.1 (Release 2012) and iOS 12 (Release 2018), starting at exactly midnight on New Year’s Eve 2022/23. But that’s not (completely) true.
The mirror worked a Message of Gizchina as the origin of the buffalo. There was one as a source Blog posts from WhatsApp, which provides information on supported operating systems. What is correct is that support has effectively ended on devices with the Android and Apple firmware versions mentioned above. But from here it gets complicated.
A good lie always contains a drop of truth
Because neither the alleged expiry date (01/01/2023) nor the fact that WhatsApp no longer works on the affected devices is correct. People who have WhatsApp installed on older mobile phones can continue to use the messenger.
However, they no longer receive updates and therefore do not have access to the new WhatsApp features. This can be one of many reasons to buy a new cell phone, as it will make using Messenger more difficult in the future. But it’s not impossible.
The deadline is also in the past. The blog post is continuously updated by WhatsApp. Last year it was agreed that Android 5 was the minimum standard to maintain support. In October of this year, it was announced that support for two iPhone models would be removed. We reported.
Far-fetched device list
Furthermore, at Spiegel’s request, WhatsApp explained that it essentially does not publish any list of smartphones on which the app is supported or not. Of course, you can search which smartphones receive updates for specific versions of Android or iOS.
But while this is still easy with the iPhone thanks to the clear range of products, it becomes impossible with Android. So here, too, Gezchina’s information can only be verified with difficulty.
Source: Spiegel, WhatsApp, Gezchina
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