Your Android phone may soon lose YouTube access: Here's Why

Google has dropped support for Android 6.0 Marshmallow in Google Play Services, and the native YouTube app running on these devices will no longer work. Users with devices running Android 6.0 Marshmallow are now being prompted with a "Switch to YouTube.com" message, which means they will have to use a mobile web browser instead of the app.

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Why won't YouTube work on Android phones?

Google Play Services will now support devices running on Android 7.0 Nougat or newer. Therefore, older generation Android models will not support the YouTube app. 

Android 6.0 Marshmallow was released in 2015 and supported Google Play Services for 11 years. Now, these devices will no longer receive background updates, new security APIs, or malware protection via Google Play Protect, making them more vulnerable to security risks.

Alongside YouTube, other apps relying on Google Play Services APIs may fail to open or function properly. However, basic services like Gmail may continue to offer basic syncing, but it is advised to access them via mobile browsers.

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Now, Google is encouraging users with affected, older hardware to upgrade to a newer device to maintain full app compatibility and security.

What it means for users

Affected users on Android 6.0 Marshmallow will still be able to stream YouTube videos via the web version, “YouTube.com,” through a mobile web browser. However, feature availability and performance may vary compared to the native application. Since these devices will not receive updates, they will be more exposed to security vulnerabilities.

Therefore, users with Android 6.0 Marshmallow devices are advised to transition to a phone running Android 7.0 Nougat or higher to access the full app capabilities, service integration, and vital system security updates.