WhatsApp officially ended support for iOS 10 and 12 in 2023. While the old versions work , they no longer receive security updates or new features (like Communities or Avatars).
The latest version of WhatsApp (as of 2025) requires iOS 14 or iOS 15. The iPhone 5 is permanently capped at iOS 10.3.4 (for the GSM model) or iOS 12.5.7 (for the iPhone 5s and some 5c models). This means the modern WhatsApp no longer installs. download whatsapp old version for iphone 5