Popular messaging app WhatsApp will stop working on millions of smartphones by the end of 2016 unless they are upgraded, media reports said.
According to a report in The Mirror, WhatsApp, with more than 1 billion monthly users, was phasing out compatibility with older phones in a technology upgrade.
"While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they do not offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app's features in the future," said a spokesperson of WhatsApp in a blogpost.
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The company has said that several older services would be discontinued in 2017.
"As we look ahead to our next seven years, we want to focus our efforts on the mobile platforms the vast majority of people use," the spokesperson said.
The blog listed several mobile platforms that will not be able to support the messaging app, including Android 2.1 and Android 2.2, Windows Phone 7 and iPhone 3GS or iOS 6.
According to the report, any iPhone 4, 4S, or 5 that has not been updated to the newest version of the operating system -- iOS 10 -- would also not support WhatsApp.
However, WhatsApp is extending support for BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, Nokia S40 and Nokia Symbian S60 until June 30, 2017.
