Security: Older operating systems are more vulnerable to cyber threats because they no longer receive security updates from Apple or Google. WhatsApp stops supporting them to protect user data and ensure secure communication.
New Features: Modern app features, especially those incorporating AI, enhanced privacy, or richer media capabilities, require newer hardware and more advanced OS functionalities that older devices simply cannot support.
Optimization and Efficiency: By dropping support for outdated systems, WhatsApp developers can focus on optimizing the app for current technologies, leading to a faster, more stable, and more efficient brazil phone number list user experience for the vast majority.
Resource Allocation: Maintaining compatibility with increasingly obsolete systems diverts valuable development resources that could otherwise be used to innovate and improve the app for the broader, actively supported user base.
Impact: While these changes affect millions of users globally who might be using older, decade-old devices, it's a small percentage of WhatsApp's total user base (which is nearing 3 billion). For affected users, the solution is to update their device's operating system (if possible) or upgrade to a newer smartphone.