WhatsApp ends support for Android 5.0 and 5.1

WhatsApp has now ended support for smartphones and tablets running Android 5.0 and Android 5.1, with the cutoff taking effect from September 8. Devices must now run Android 6.0 or newer to continue using the messaging service. The affected versions of Android date back to the middle of the last decade, meaning most active smartphones are already compatible, but the change still matters in markets where older low-cost hardware remains in everyday use for many years.

Messaging applications increasingly depend on security features, encryption libraries and system APIs that are difficult to maintain on operating systems no longer receiving modern platform support. Users unable to upgrade their existing device will eventually need newer hardware if they want to continue sending and receiving WhatsApp messages.

The cutoff illustrates an unavoidable tension in the mobile ecosystem: extending software support helps reduce electronic waste, but maintaining applications indefinitely on obsolete operating systems can create significant security and engineering problems.