WhatsApp has announced that it's trimming support for older versions of Apple's mobile operating system and devices, marking the end of the line for those who are still on iOS 9.

iOS 9 and iPhone 4s No Longer Supported

Now all WhatsApp customers who use the iPhone are required to be on iOS 10 (released in 2016) or later to use the service, says a new support document on the WhatsApp website.

According to the document, the Facebook-owned company currently provides support for and recommends using the following devices and operating system versions:

  • 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

As a result, the encrypted messaging service no longer works on the iPhone which doesn't support iOS 10. As most of the people who are on iOS 9 use the iPhone 4s, they'll need to upgrade to the iPhone 5 or a newer model to continue using WhatsApp on the go.

Running Modern Apps on Outdated Hardware

It isn't unusual for software developers to end support for older devices. Supporting outdated hardware that only a fraction of your user base is on doesn't make any sense from a business perspective if you're a big company (for end-users, it's a different story).

Related: How to Know If Someone Blocked You on WhatsApp

WhatsApp has been testing several new features with a small number of customers which may or may not see the light of day. Some of those tests are apparently quite promising though the company has yet to address two very popular feature requests.

Firstly, one still cannot activate the app with multiple phone numbers on more than one device at a time. And secondly, transferring chats between platforms directly is currently not possible without having to export your chat history as an email attachment.

WhatsApp said before it was working on both of these features.