This deadline was announced last year, giving users ample time to upgrade to newer smartphones.

WhatsApp has announced that it will no longer support Android version 2.3.7 and older, and iOS 8 and older from today. All affected users will end up losing their chats if not backed up or exported. To recall, WhatsApp recently shut down support for Windows Phone users.

This deadline was announced last year, giving users ample time to upgrade to newer smartphones. If you are one of the affected users, we would recommend that you back up your chats immediately. To do so you can follow the given steps:

* Open WhatsApp and press the three dots present on the top right corner of your display.

* On that press the ‘Settings’ button and then click on the ‘Chats’ button.

* Then go into the ‘Chat Backup’ option.

* Press the ‘Backup’ button and then you are done.

* This will generate backup of your chat in Google Drive or on Apple’s iCloud, which you can then import into your new smartphone and get all your chats back.

To restore your chats, you need to follow the given steps:

* While setting up WhatsApp on your new smartphone enter your phone number and verify it with the OTP sent by the app.

* After being verified enter your desired display name and click next.

* On this screen WhatsApp will search your linked account for a backup, which when found it will ask you if you want to restore.

* Press ‘Yes’ and wait for the app to download the data and restore it onto your new smartphone.

WhatsApp currently on its official website recommends users to upgrade to smartphones running Android OS 4.0.3 and later, or iOS 9 and later.