WhatsApp will stop supporting older Android phones in September

The instant messaging app WhatsApp, which is owned by Meta, announced that it will stop supporting older versions of Android 6, starting September 8, 2026, in a move that comes as part of periodic updates aimed at improving performance and enhancing the app's technical capabilities.

According to WABetaInfo, which specializes in tracking app updates, users will still be able to access WhatsApp as long as they are using a supported version of the app and are running Android 6 or later.

The move comes as WhatsApp strives to maintain an appropriate minimum operating requirements, as supporting advanced features requires relying on newer operating system capabilities and improved performance standards, which means that older devices may have difficulty running new functions efficiently.

Although the current supported version of the app runs on Android 5.0 or later, the constant evolution of the system, which has reached advanced versions such as Android 17, has created a technical gap between modern software and older hardware that no longer receives updates from manufacturers.

The proliferation of legacy devices

Millions of users around the world still rely on older versions of Android, especially in countries such as India, Brazil, and Pakistan, as well as in areas of Southeast Asia and Africa, where older phones are widely used.

Many of these devices run on versions older than Android 10, which makes it more difficult to support them technically with recent updates.

WhatsApp will start notifying affected users via an alert that appears when the app is opened, stating that as of September 8, 2026, the app will no longer be available on some versions of Android.

Under the new update, support will be completely discontinued for devices running Android 5.0 and 5.1, which means that the app will not be able to be used after the decision goes into effect.

The company makes such decisions even in cases where the data shows that the number of affected users is limited.

What should users do?

WhatsApp advises affected users to back up their chats ahead of time, to avoid losing important data.

Backups can be done via Google Drive directly from the app's settings, or rely on local copies that are automatically saved to the device's memory.

The local copy option is especially useful for users who don't have enough storage space on Google Drive, or don't want to buy extra capacity.