WhatsApp is about to stop working on a range of old smartphones, meaning owners will have to buy newer gadgets if they want to continue using the chat app to the best of its capabilities.

On New Year’s Day, WhatsApp will ‘remove support’ for a number of devices – which updated versions of the software can no longer be installed on them.

This means owners of these clapped out gizmos won’t be able to enjoy new features or plugs for security holes which are often introduced in updates.

From January 1, 2018, anyone still using phones which run BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10 or Windows Phone 8.0 will no longer be able to update their WhatsApp software.

In a blog post, WhatsApp wrote: “While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future.

“This was a tough decision for us to make, but the right one in order to give people better ways to keep in touch with friends, family, and loved ones using WhatsApp.

“If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone.”

Last year, WhatsApp dropped its support for Nokia Symbian S60 phones. It will do the same for Nokia S40 handsets on December 31 2018 and then devices running Android 2.3.7 and older after 1 February, 2020.

A lawyer recently wrote to WhatsApp, calling on it to stop people from using the middle finger emoji.

The sensitive solicitor claimed the emoji constitutes an ‘obscene, lewd gesture’ – which is an offence in India.