{"id":45208,"date":"2024-10-02T14:59:46","date_gmt":"2024-10-02T18:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=45208"},"modified":"2024-10-09T09:35:25","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T13:35:25","slug":"juno-for-youtube-removed-from-the-app-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2024\/10\/02\/juno-for-youtube-removed-from-the-app-store\/","title":{"rendered":"Juno for YouTube Removed From the App Store"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christian Selig<\/a> (tweet<\/a>, Mastodon<\/a>, Hacker News<\/a>):<\/p>\n

For those not aware, a few months ago after reaching out to me, YouTube contacted the App Store<\/a> stating that Juno does not adhere to YouTube guidelines and modifies the website in a way they don’t approve of, and alludes to their trademarks and iconography.<\/p>

I don’t personally agree with this, as Juno is just a web view, and acts as little more than a browser extension that modifies CSS to make the website and video player look more “visionOS” like. No logos are placed other than those already on the website, and the “for YouTube” suffix is permitted in their branding guidelines<\/a>. Juno also doesn’t block ads in any capacity, for the curious.<\/p>

I stated as much to YouTube, they wouldn’t really clarify or budge any, and as a result of both parties not being able to come to a conclusion I received an email a few minutes ago from Apple that Juno has been removed from the App Store.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The App Store guideline<\/a> is stacked against developers:<\/p>\n

\n

5.2.2 Third-Party Sites\/Services: If your app uses, accesses, monetizes access to, or displays content from a third-party service, ensure that you are specifically permitted to do so under the service’s terms of use. Authorization must be provided upon request.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So it doesn’t matter whether the app was actually<\/em> violating the terms of use. If YouTube complains and won’t provide authorization, there’s nothing you can do. There seems to be no limiting factor that would prevent any Web site from objecting to any app that displays Web content.<\/p>\n\n

Juli Clover<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

YouTube does not have a dedicated app for the Vision Pro, which is why Selig designed and released Juno last February<\/a>. Prior to when the Vision Pro launched, YouTube said that it would not develop a Vision Pro app, nor would it allow the YouTube iPad app to run on the headset. With Juno removed, those who want to watch YouTube on Vision Pro will need to use Safari.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Kyle<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Dang, just last night I thought to myself, “if it wasn’t for Juno I would never use my Vision Pro.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

David Barnard<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Welp… with that, the one use-case I really cared about on Vision Pro is now gone (or at least unable to be updated, and Google may eventually break the app).<\/p>

Vision Pro is probably the worst “business investment” I’ve ever made. As much as I love the hardware, there’s just not enough content and not enough compelling apps. If Google does break Juno, my several hour a week usage will probably drop to near zero.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

John Gruber<\/a> (Mastodon<\/a>):<\/p>\n

\n

I don’t expect to see YouTube launch a native VisionOS app soon, and even if they do, I doubt it’ll be anywhere near as good as Juno. What I was obviously wrong about in that February post was thinking that YouTube wouldn’t care about Juno’s existence, given that Juno did not block ads. All it did was make the YouTube experience great on Vision Pro.<\/p>\n

This makes Selig — one of the most gifted indie developers working on Apple’s platforms today — 2 for 2 on getting hosed by big platforms for which Selig created exquisitely well-crafted clients.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

It’s a shame, but clients for services that you don’t control just seem to be a bad place to be. If the service is free, the company providing it can kill your app. If it’s paid, Apple will want a cut of the revenue<\/a>, even though it doesn’t pass through you.<\/p>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n