WhatsApp will not be supporting several smartphones that are running on older Android and iOS versions from February 1. Devices running on Android version 4.0.3 and iOS 9 and later will not be viable to run WhatsApp version, read its FAQ page. The Facebook-owned messaging app had made this announcement in early 2019.
On a whole, it means that if one’s smartphone runs on the older operating system (OS) than the ones mentioned above, one needs to upgrade it to the latest version or get a smartphone running on supported operating systems to continue using facilities of WhatsApp. WhatsApp ended support for Windows Phone OS on December 31, 2019.
In case one is switching to a new device, here is how one can backup and restore its chat:
- Open WhatsApp
- Go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup
- Tap on Backup. You can set up an auto-backup to daily, weekly, and monthly.
- You can also backup your WhatsApp chats to Google Drive.
Another method to save your WhatsApp chats is by going to the individual’s or group chat you want to export > tap on contact info and look for ‘Export Chat’.
You can choose to attach media content shared between you and the individual/ group before exporting the chat. An email will be composed of your chat history attached as a .txt document.
