If you own an Android, you’re hardly alone as nearly 2.5 billion people use Android devices worldwide. The operating system (OS) for these devices has been owned and operated by Google since 2005, when Google acquired the startup behind Android and rewrote the operating system from scratch. But the tech giant hasn’t stopped changing Android since then. Just over the past year, Google has updated its payments policy to tighten the payment service requirements for app developers, and has also announced plans to change its security protocol for mobile devices. Android device. Now, Android users are about to lose a service because of another change from the tech giant. Read on to find out what you’ll have to give up in the coming months if you own an Android.
READ THIS NEXT: Google just issued another urgent warning to all Android users.
A lot of Google’s changes didn’t happen without heavy cost to Android users. With the recent update to the payment policy, many companies have restricted and removed certain features on their Android apps, possibly as a way to keep their entire revenue. On April 1, Amazon stopped allowing Audible users to purchase audiobook titles with a credit or debit card on its Android app, The Verge reported. Shortly after on April 4, Barnes & Noble informed shoppers that they would no longer be able to purchase digital books or other content from the Nook app for Android. And more recently, Hulu removed the option for users to create a new account or start a new free trial on its app for both Android and Android TV.
In another change, it was just confirmed that Google will be killing one of its Android apps in 2022. The tech giant is getting rid of its YouTube Go app, according to a May 2 announcement. from YouTube on Google Help. The app will start shutting down in August, though an exact date has not been given as to when access will completely shut down. But as tech news blog Ghacks also reports, for Android users who haven’t previously downloaded the YouTube Go app, it’s no longer available on the Google Play store.
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YouTube Go first launched in the Google Play store in 2016, designed as a means for Android users to access the video platform even when “in locations where connectivity, data costs, and low-end devices prevent us from providing the best experience. YouTube app.”
But as a lightweight version of the main YouTube app, it was limited in features, notably not allowing Android users “the ability to comment, post, create content, and use a dark theme”. It also hasn’t been updated as of October 2021, according to 9to5Google. Even so, YouTube Go still has over 500 million installs currently — so these users may be dismayed by the recent announcement.
Android users won’t have to use YouTube when YouTube Go is officially phased out. Instead, Google recommends switching to another source. “To access YouTube, we recommend that YouTube Go users install the main YouTube app or visit youtube.com in their browser,” the company said.
According to the announcement, YouTube is working to improve its main Android app to help address some of the issues the YouTube Go app was originally created for, such as better performance in certain environments and Better user experience in general.
“Specifically, we’ve improved performance for low-end devices or those that watch YouTube on slower networks,” YouTube said in the announcement. “We’re also building additional user controls to help reduce mobile data usage for viewers with limited data — so stay tuned for more updates. “
READ THIS NEXT: If you have Android, you will be banned from doing this from today.
