Developers of messaging platform WhatsApp have updated the iOS app for the social website to add a number of improvements, including a new feature to the app, said a report, but in a matter that will affect a huge number of iPhone owners, WhatsApp has stopped support for them. That means they will not be able to use WhatsApp on their phones. The latest version of the app with version number 2.18.90 does not support iOS 7 and instead, only supports iOS 8 and later versions, according to WABetaInfo report.
 
Those who are still using an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S, 5, and 5S, but have so far not updated their mobile operating system will reportedly not be able to download the newer versions of the app. Further, the report said that if you have previously activated your WhatsApp account on iPhone 4 and other iOS 7-powered devices, then you can still use the version 2.18.81 of WhatsApp on these devices until February 1, 2020. 
 
Talking about the iOS versions that WhatsApp supports, the report, however, did not inform that the latest version of WhatsApp is yet to support iOS 12 officially. Developers are working on the version that officially supports iOS 12 but users will have to “wait a few updates” before they can expect the WhatsApp to completely support the upcoming version of iOS.
 
WhatsApp has reportedly added the ‘Suspicious Link’ feature to iOS to help users recognize any suspicious links in the chat. The app locally analyzes the links that are shared on the chat to detect if they are suspicious. It simply  means that it is not sending any data to any server, said BGR report, adding "We are not clear about what would constitute to be a suspicious link but the report points out that “unusual characters” in the link makes a link suspicious."
 
The messaging app has also posted a new FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) on its official website about this new feature, stating “when a link contains a combination of characters that is considered unusual”, WhatsApp will make the link as suspicious. Further, if users try to open such a link, the app will show a pop-up message informing them about the suspicious link. 
 
The report has clarified that WhatsApp “does not collect detected suspicious links”.
 
The company will reportedly be rolling out notification extension support which means that it will be enabled in a few days on your app if you can’t already see it. The new feature allows users to view images and GIFs directly as previews from your notifications. 
 
Further, it also facilitates users to download these images and GIFs directly from notifications, said the report, adding that the new update also brings Wallet support to WhatsApp.
 
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Notably, users will also be able to see the profile picture of the contacts next to their names while viewing any WhatsApp status update, besides being able to search through the status updates.