WhatsApp will stop working on some older smartphones from January 1

If you've got an older iPhone or Android phone, you may lose access to WhatsApp altogether or some features on the messaging app from January 1, 2021.

The makers of the messaging app have confirmed support for older devices will stop in the new year, and for some it may mean the app stops working altogether. You'll only be impacted if you don't have iOS 9 or above on your iPhone or Android 4.0.3 or above on your Android device.

That means those with an iPhone 4 or below won't be able to upgrade to the latest software, and some much older Android phones will also be affected such as the Samsung Galaxy S2 that was released in 2011.

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Some WhatsApp users will be able to upgrade their software to higher than iOS 9 or Android 4.0.3 to make sure they're not impacted, so we'd recommend checking to see what software you have if you're worried you may lose access.

You can do that on an iPhone by going to Settings > General > Software update to see what software you're running. If you have an Android phone, you'll be able to find it in your Settings, and it'll likely be under a section called About Phone.

If you have a higher version of the software than iOS 9 or Android 4.0.3, you won't have any issues in the new year.

Some with much older devices won't be able to upgrade their software at all, and if that's you it may mean you lose access to certain WhatsApp features on January 1.

If that's the case, or you lose access to the app altogether, it may be you have to upgrade your phone to be able to make the most of the app again.