The news recently announced by Meta regarding the fate of WhatsApp on some specific mobile phones it did not please a large portion of users, but, apparently, the path is now clear and there will never be a turning back: starting from February next year the application will stop working on mobile phones equipped with KaiOS operating system. A decision that will have inevitable consequences for some still very popular models from companies such as Nokia, Alcatel, Doro and Cat, especially for those who have until now continued to freely use the most popular instant messaging app in the world. KaiOS it is a “light” mobile operating system born from the ashes of Firefox OS, after it was abandoned by Mozilla in 2016, and designed to serve low-tech cheap phones equipped with essential functions such as phone calls and text messages.
Although it may not seem like it, given the rapid technological evolution of electronic devices, they are millions users in possession of phones of this type, and Meta’s drastic decision will affect approximately seventy different models. Among these we can mention for example the “Banana-Phone”, the name by which the Nokia 8110 4G is best known due to its yellow color and its curved lines, or the Nokia 2760 Flip or the Alcatel Go Flip, also they are still very widespread. For all owners of this type of mobile phone equipped with KaiOS, the end of the collaboration with WhatsApp will essentially mean no longer being able to use the program.
In reality, a first step in this cut to the past took place last year June 2024: from that moment on, users with KaiOS devices were no longer allowed to create new WhatsApp accounts. The last phase of the detachment will take place starting from February 1, 2025, with the definitive interruption of support by Meta.
At this point, users affected by this change will be able to choose between two different options. The first involves finding an instant messaging app alternative new, which allows you to maintain and continue to use your mobile phone without distorting the meaning of the choice made.
The second possibility, more expensive, is that of purchasing a new electronic device which is compatible, due to the characteristics of the operating system with which it will be equipped, with the requirements required by Meta to continue to benefit from the constant support provided to WhatsApp.