14 DAY TRIAL // UPDATE, June 4: WhatsApp has released version 2.16.6, which is believed to fix these problems. We're still keeping an eye on reports and will let you know if the reported issues persist.
UPDATE, June 3: WhatsApp has acknowledged the bug, and in emails sent to users, the company says that a fix is already in the works.
"We are aware of the issue and apologize for the inconvenience. Our developers have been investigating the problem. They are working on implementing a solution in the next version, which will be available as soon as possible," the company announces.
Thanks for the tip, navap!
Original story below.
The latest WhatsApp update is wreaking havoc on iOS as it causes random crashes all of a sudden due to what seems to be a widespread bug impacting a big number of iPhones.
At this point, it’s not yet very clear why this is happening, but WhatsApp for iOS version 2.16.5, which was released on May 31 to actually correct some bugs, seems to be doing more harm than good, according to user complaints posted in the App Store and confirmed by some of our readers.
Reinstalling the app makes no difference
In most of the cases, the update renders WhatsApp completely unusable because it crashes while using it, but in some rare situations, it makes the app impossible to launch. A small number of users also complained that WhatsApp crashed when having a conversation, and all messages got erased with no option to recover them.
“I really hate myself for using WhatsApp for the first time. I haven’t saved by data that are really important to my research. Blindly trusting WhatsApp updates crashed my dreams. I request WhatsApp please do something to recover the data which I haven’t saved,” one of the users whose files were impacted by the crashing bug says.
“Ever since I updated the app, it can’t even open. I keep refreshing and stuff but it just shows a white screen and closes,” another one adds.
Ironically, this version was introduced to correct a bug causing the app to crash when trying for forward links using the built-in feature. And while WhatsApp version 2.16.5 indeed fixes the link forwarding problem, it actually leads to issues that are even worse, so if you haven’t already updated, you’d better stick with your current version.
Those who are already on version 2.16.5 and experiencing the problem have no other option than to wait until a fix is provided. We’ve reached out to WhatsApp for more info on this and will update should they provide any update.