Google has once again taken down Microsoft’s YouTube app for Windows Phone for somewhat dubious reasons which the software giant claims are manufactured.

“It seems to us that Google’s reasons for blocking our app are manufactured so that we can’t give our users the same experience Android and iPhone users are getting. The roadblocks Google has set up are impossible to overcome, and they know it,” Microsoft stated in a blog post.

In May, the MS YouTube app was taken down as per request by Google as the app did not show ads – Google’s primary money maker – and allowed users to download videos for offline viewing, and also view restricted videos. In response to Google’s complaints, Microsoft changed the app, removed the download option, made room for ads, and honored the video restrictions.  But still, Google wasn’t happy.  So Microsoft just took down the app and worked with Google to fix the issues.

For a while the YouTube app was missing, but when Microsoft recommissioned the app, people saw it as a better option, even though it posed a lot of restrictions.  Though the app supports video upload, only short videos can be uploaded using your network, anything bigger and you’d have to use WiFi connection.  And you can’t upload anything bigger than 100MB.  The uploading process takes a huge toll on a device’s battery life too, since you can continue uploading video even if you move away from the app.  This only meant you had to have your device plugged while uploading videos.

The app wasn’t perfect but users were happy.  And this I think is what caused Google target the app once again.

Four reasons YouTube for Windows Phone was blocked

In a lengthy blog post, Microsoft aired its frustrations towards Google’s demands and the reason the app was blocked.

HTML5

Google asked Microsoft to write the app in HTML5.  The software giant found this request odd since the original app, the one taken down in May, wasn’t written in HTML5.  They therefore assumed that the coding language they;d used was okay.  Also, Microsoft pointed out that many of Google’s apps weren’t written in HTML5 anyway, which makes their request more absurd. Even the YouTube app for iOS and Android aren’t written in HTML5.

Ads

Though the YouTube app for Windows 8 now has ads, Google complained that “it doesn’t always serve ads based on conditions imposed by content creators.”  Microsoft asked Google for information regarding how ads appear on iOs and Android YouTube apps, but the search giant has failed to provide that information.

YouTube brand

Google also complained that Microsoft should not have used the YouTube brand, which is odd not only because the app is for YouTube, but also, as Microsoft points out, many others have used the brand for their apps.  The software giant also stated that the new YouTube offers a fuller experience and that doesn’t seem to sit well with Google, thus they want the brand to be dropped from being used.

Degrading experience

According to Google, Microsoft’s YouTube app has delivered a subpar experience for users. But Google has allowed that in the past.  Now, Google is calling Microsoft out on that experience and is using it to justify pulling the app.  Microsoft claims that the new app offers a better experience for users and that this is threatening  Google.

“We think it’s clear that Google just doesn’t want Windows Phone users to have the same experience as Android and Apple users, and that their objections are nothing other than excuses”

“Nonetheless, we are committed to giving our users the experience they deserve, and are happy to work with Google to solve any legitimate concerns they may have. In the meantime, we once again request that Google stop blocking our YouTube app,” Microsoft concluded.