San Francisco, December 11: WhatsApp will stop working on millions of older mobile devices globally as the company has withdrawn support for such phones. The users on Windows Phones will be locked out forever after December 31, said Facebook. Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014 and aims to integrate the messaging platform into its other services Messenger and Instagram.

"WhatsApp will stop working on millions of phones in the next couple of months as the company withdraws support for some older mobile platforms.

"From February 1, 2020, any iPhone running iOS 8 or older will no longer be supported, along with any Android device running version 2.3.7 or older," Facebook said. Fact Check: Sending Forwarded Good Morning Wishes on WhatsApp Can Steal Data From Phone? Know the Truth About Viral Message.

"Users of these operating systems are already unable to create new WhatsApp accounts or re-verify existing accounts.

"Furthermore, WhatsApp is withdrawing support for all Windows phones from December 31, 2019 -- the same month that Microsoft ends support of its Windows 10 Mobile OS," the social networking platform added. WhatsApp New Feature Rolled Out: WhatsApp Messenger Brings Call Waiting Feature; Skips Call Holding For Now.

Meanwhile, users around the globe were facing trouble in sending or receiving messages on WhatsApp late Tuesday. Reports showed outages across Europe and in the US, Mexico and South America.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 11, 2019 10:39 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).