Millions of Android users face WhatsApp block - is your phone affected?

WhatsApp is planning to drop support for older Android versions, potentially leaving millions of users without access to the app. According to WABetaInfo, the Meta-owned firm will stop supporting Android phones running OS versions older than Android 6 on September 8, 2026. This could affect an estimated 3 million devices worldwide, based on Statcounter's figures showing 0.69% of global Android usage is still on Android 5.0. Users with older Android phones will need to upgrade to a newer device to continue using WhatsApp. When upgrading, users can backup their chats to their linked Google account and restore them on their new device. Modern Android phones have much longer software support than older devices, with some models receiving up to seven years of updates.