Google has announced that it has begun to discontinue technical support for the YouTube app on some smartphone models running older Android systems, which will affect millions of users of the app on those devices.
Google explained that it has begun discontinuing technical support for the YouTube app on phones running Android 6.0 Marshmallow and earlier versions of Android, in a move aimed at encouraging users to switch to newer versions that offer higher levels of security.
The company confirmed that it will continue to support devices running Android 7.0 Nougat and later versions, warning that using older operating systems could expose users to security vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit to access devices and personal data.
Technology experts advise users of affected phones to rely on YouTube via a web browser if the application stops working, while checking for any application updates or considering upgrading their devices to newer phones to ensure continued support and access to the latest security standards.
According to information circulating, some affected users have already begun receiving notifications asking them to use YouTube via its website instead of the application, which is no longer supported on their devices.
