The saga of the YouTube app for Windows Phone is long and fraught with several twists and turns, and today the story continues with a new chapter that's not likely to sit well with the Live Tile crowd. Microsoft has released an update for its official Windows Phone YouTube app that brings it up to version 3.2 and, unfortunately for YouTube lovers on Windows Phone, also reverts the app into what is essentially a link to the mobile YouTube website.
This newly-updated YouTube app is similar to the one that was available before Microsoft released a fully-featured update back in May. The original Windows Phone YouTube app sent users to the mobile page and gave them an experience that was very basic, especially compared to the apps available on Android and iOS. Microsoft's update transformed the app into a more powerful piece of software that many folks enjoyed using, but eventually the app was yanked at Google's request due to the inclusion of features like video downloads.
Fast-forward a few months and Microsoft released another update to its YouTube app, and it looked like that might be the end of the story. Google blocked the app's access to YouTube shortly after its release, though, claiming that it still violated the service's terms of use.
Now the YouTube app for Windows Phone is back to square one, which is pretty disappointing for fans of Microsoft's platform. Sure, there are third-party app alternatives that can provide a superior YouTube experience on Windows Phone, but it's still a bummer to see users suffering because of the bickering going on between Microsoft and Google. Here's to hoping that whatever is going on behind the scenes gets resolved soon and Windows Phone gets its legit YouTube app.
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