YouTube announced that it will shut down YouTube Go in August, after about 6 years in operation. YouTube Go is an app that Google says is a way to download, watch and share videos, while controlling your data spend. But not for much longer.
YouTube – which is owned by Google and its parent company Alphabet – is advising its users to install the main YouTube app or visit youtube.com in their browsers, in place of YouTube Go. The company explains that it is taking these steps because the regular YouTube app has been greatly improved. Google maintains that the main YouTube app provides a “better overall user experience” and that it also offers features that are not available on YouTube Go that its users have asked for. This includes, for example, the ability to comment, post, create content, and use dark theme.
But users will lose out on the best feature of YouTube Go – the use of minimal data. The app’s biggest draw was that people did not have to waste much data from their limited data plans when using it. The regular YouTube App, in contrast, uses up a great deal of data when in operation.
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“When we launched YouTube Go in 2016, it was designed for viewers in locations where connectivity, data prices, and low-end devices prevented us from delivering the best experience in the main YouTube app. Since then, YouTube has invested in improvements to the main YouTube app that make it perform better in these environments, while also delivering a better user experience which is inclusive of our entire community,” explained the company in a blog post.
“Specifically, we have improved performance for entry-level devices or those that watch YouTube on slower networks. We’re also building out additional user controls that help to decrease mobile data usage for viewers with limited data – so stay tuned for more updates!”
Google says that now by using the main YouTube app, YouTube Go users will be able to participate in creation and community and have access to an overall improved user experience.
