Lightweight and data saving YouTube Go app shutting down in August

The company recommended existing YouTube Go users to switch to the main YouTube app or use the YouTube website via their browser.

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By Abhinav Kumar

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Google on Wednesday through a support page announced that it will discontinue the YouTube Go app. This is a lightweight version of the original YouTube app and optimised for low-end devices, with a poor, spotty data connection. 

This app was launched in 2016 and currently has over 500 million installs on Google Play Store. While the main YouTube app gets updated regularly, the YouTube Go app appears abandoned since last year with the last released update in October 2021. 

According to Google, YouTube Go has become obsolete since the company has significantly improved the performance of the main YouTube app on entry-level devices and slower connections. The 10MB YouTube Go app lacks features such as comment, share, like, dark theme, and more.

The company recommended existing YouTube Go users to switch to the main YouTube app or use the YouTube website via their browser. Google also said that in future updates it will further reduce the data consumption on YouTube app for users with limited data. 

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Abhinav Kumar

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Abhinav is an editor at OnlyTech. He is a tech enthusiast who loves to read and write about new things. He spends most of his time tinkering with smartphones or computers when not writing about tech.

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Beta version is live on playstore. Install it now

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.youtube.mango

Introducing YouTube Go ? A brand new app to download, enjoy and share videos...bina data udae!

✔️️ Find a world of videos: ? songs, ? movies, ? TV shows, ? comedy, ? fashion, ? cooking, ?️ how-to’s and many, many more!
✔️️ Download and watch your favorite videos
✔️️ Instantly share videos - no data used to transfer
✔️️ Search for any video and discover new videos
✔️️ Only 8.5MB app size

Ab mazze udao, data nahi! ?

? Control Your Data! ₹
- Choose to download or stream
- Preview videos before you download or watch
- Choose how many MBs you spend on videos

? Share Videos Instantly! ?
- Share with friends and family nearby
- Video transfer uses no data
- Super fast speed: send videos in seconds
- Once received, a quick 15KB internet security check allows you to play the video

? Download Videos! ⬇️️
- Download videos to your phone or SD card
- Play them without buffering
- Watch them anytime, anywhere - even with slow or no internet connection
- Watch downloaded videos many times with no extra data cost

? Super Fast! Less Phone Hang! ?
- No more worrying about phone hanging
- Made to work with less storage and slow speeds
- Works on older Android versions back to Jellybean (Android 4.1)

YouTube Go - Maximize your fun without eating up your data!

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YouTube Go, a Google for India App, Is Now Available to Download

YouTube Go was previewed back in September, at the Google for India event. Built for India, the app is offline-centric and meant to combat the data connectivity woes that the country faces along with other emerging markets. Users will be able to preview videos when offline, share them with nearby friends when without data, and of course also download videos to watch when offline later.

The YouTube Go app is listed on Google Play, and is available to download in India. The listing description reads, "YouTube Go A brand new app to download, enjoy and share videos... bina data udae!" The app is listed as "unreleased", and comes with the warning that it may be unstable.

The app weighs in at 8.5MB, and supports devices running on Android versions all the way back to v4.1 Jelly Bean. As we mentioned, the YouTube Go app has several features geared towards offline use, as well as data management. Apart from being able to share videos with nearby friends without using the Internet, users will be able to preview videos via their thumbnails, and see the weight of videos available at different (basic, standard) resolutions.

Detailing the YouTube Go offline sharing feature, Google says users will be able to share videos via Bluetooth with friends nearby without using data in seconds, and once it is received on the other end, a 15KB "Internet security check" allows the video to be played. We tried the feature, and it worked.

The listing was first spotted by Android Police, which notes that though the APK file is available, the app seems to only work in India for now.

YouTube Go Now Available; Lets You Preview, Share, Watch Videos Offline | NDTV Gadgets360.com

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