Featured Image Credit: NurPhoto / Contributor / Westend61 / Getty
When it comes to your choice of messaging platform, it probably says a lot about your personality.
Do you default to iMessage, is WhatsApp your preferred way to message, what about Facebook Messenger, Instagram, or even Snapchat?
Instagram is by far the most popular iPhone app there is, boasting 182.2 million downloads in Q2 of 2024. It's followed by Facebook and TikTok, with WhatsApp's 113.9 million downloads showing how popular it is in fourth place.
Unfortunately, millions of you could soon be locked out of the group chat, with Apple warning you'll need to upgrade your phones to keep using WhatsApp.
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How else are you going to keep up with all those hated changes (we're still not used to bouncing dot replies)?
According to WAbetainfo, some iPhone users are being warned their device is about to become incompatible with WhatsApp.
A warning is reportedly popping up that reads: "WhatsApp will stop supporting this version of iOS after 5 May 2025. Please go to Settings > General, then tap Software Update to get the latest iOS version."
As WhatsApp is expected to have 3.17 billion users in 2025, there are concerns that a lot of you could be locked out of the service.
While we know we've covered a lot of complaints about iOS 18 zapping your phone's battery, at least keeping your phone updated means all your apps will keep running.
For those worried they won't be able to use WhatsApp, it's the end of days for phones that can't install iOS 15.1.
WAbetainfo explains: "One of the main reasons for this change is that newer versions of iOS include updated APIs and improved technologies that WhatsApp relies on to deliver new features.
“By not supporting older versions, WhatsApp will be able to optimize the app and introduce new features that simply wouldn't be possible with outdated operating systems."
The site also suggests that WhatsApp could be monitoring the number of users still running older operating systems and deemed that it's not worth ongoing support.
WhatsApp to drop support for older iOS versions and iPhone models starting May 2025!
— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) December 2, 2024
WhatsApp will stop supporting versions older than iOS 15.1 affecting users with iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus.https://t.co/rp77DJ7h27 pic.twitter.com/isliFb4mo8
If you're concerned that your phone is going to be one of the affected models, it looks like it's goodbye for anyone using the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus.
Those phones are locked to iOS 12.5.7, but as the iPhone 5s was released all the way back in September 2013, we imagine most of you have upgraded by now.
If you need to make sure you're running the right iOS, go to iPhone Settings > General > Software Update.
It's important to note that May 5, 2025, is the all-important date WhatsApp is going dark for affected phones, although the issue is only affecting iPhones. It's a point in favor of Android because its phones won't be affected by the changes.
For iPhone users, both the general WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business will be hit by the changes, so make sure your phone is running the latest iOS or face missing out on all the group chat drama.
