YouTube iMessage mini-app to be discontinued for iPhone and iPad users; here’s what this means

YouTube was one of the first apps that was integrated into the iMessage App Store back in 2017. However, Apple has decided to discontinue its mini-app for its iOS users years after this move. If that’s not all, the company also silently removed the iMessage option from the YouTube app on iPhones and iPads. Here’s everything you need to know about the development:

How did the YouTube mini-app for iMessage work?

If you’ve ever tried sending a YouTube video link to your friends using iMessage on your iPhone, you probably already know of the in-app option that lets you search for one. On clicking YouTube, users can directly send a video of their choice without having to exit the app.

ALSO READ: How to use YouTube in the background on your smartphone

What’s more, if you had the iMessage app on your device, you could even play these links on your iOS device if you had the YouTube mini-app installed on it. Once the app is installed on your iPhone or iPad, it disappears. Then, you can simply head over to the iMessage app and play any video on the native YouTube player.

Why is the YouTube iMessage mini-app being discontinued?

According to a report published by 9to5Mac, YouTube hasn’t seemed to confirm the reason behind doing away with the mini-app. There were also no official comments by the company about removing the option from the YouTube app for iOS (19.01.1), which was released on January 10. That said, the update still mentions how the version brings in bug fixes and improved performance for the app. 

However, the statement mentions how the iMessage App Store did not rise in popularity, leaving the company to reportedly remove several other apps that did not make the mark.