By Rasheed Sobowale

Facebook-owned end-to-end encrypted messaging chat platform, WhatsApp has revealed it will be stopping its support for certain mobile operating systems.

The listed operating systems include:

• Android versions 2.3.7 and older
• iOS 8 and older
• Windows

Users of mobile phones powered by Android versions 2.3.7 and older will still be able to use the application until February 1, 2020.

Windows mobile phone users, however, will be unable to use WhatsApp after December 31st.

“WhatsApp might not be available in the Microsoft Store after July 1, 2019,” WhatsApp stated on its website.

The reason for this development according to WhatsApp is “because we no longer actively develop for these operating systems, some features might stop functioning at any time.”

On the other hand, users with phones powered by Android running OS 4.0.3+; iPhone running iOS 9+; KaiOS 2.5.1+, including JioPhone and JioPhone 2 will continue to access the platform.

“Furthermore, there’s no option to transfer your chat history between platforms. However, we provide the option to export your chat history as an email attachment.

“Please note, export chat isn’t supported in Germany.”

WhatsApp company was started on February 24, 2009, by two former employees of Yahoo. The two techpreneurs, Brian Acton and  Jan Koum reportedly applied for jobs in Facebook but were turned down.

The company would later turn out to be Facebook’s largest acquisition to date when it was acquired for a sum of US$19 billion.

Vanguard News Nigeria.