WhatsApp it raises the bar of minimum requirements even further and leaves out those who don’t update their smartphone. From the November 30, 2026 the app will no longer work on iPhones with a version of iOS lower than 15.5a threshold that Meta communicated through its assistance center without too much fanfare.
Anyone who opens the app after that date on a system that is too old will simply find themselves faced with an incompatibility message, without the possibility of sending or receiving messages. The problem particularly affects models that Apple has already stopped updating for some time, such as iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, 6 and 6 Plus: devices that cannot install iOS 15.5 even if they want to, and which will therefore lose WhatsApp regardless of the owner’s will.
For everyone else, the solution remains banal: go in Settings > General > Software Update and verify that your phone is already on the required version or higher. Those who own a more recent iPhone, even a few generations, are unlikely to have problems.
The Android precedent, already taken in September
The squeeze on iOS follows a similar cut on the Android front by a few months. FromSeptember 8, 2026 WhatsApp has stopped working on Android 5.0 and 5.1 (Lollipop)imposing version 6.0 as a minimum. For those who remain excluded, there are two paths: update the operating systemif the manufacturer still allows it, or change phone. In both cases it is best to move before the deadline and save a copy of the conversations, via backup on Google Drive or on a local file to be transferred manually to the new device, because after blocking the app no longer guarantees access to the data resident on the old terminal.
Meta justifies the choice with the usual reasons: fewer versions to test means more resources for security and new features, such as bubble notifications that require newer APIs not available on outdated operating systems. A technically sound argument, but which in fact places the cost of the operation on those who, for economic reasons rather than choice, continue to use devices from seven or eight years ago. The segment of users most exposed to these progressive cuts remains that of emerging markets, where smartphone turnover does not follow the rhythms imposed by software updates.
