WhatsApp has now reportedly dropped the support of YouTube for iOS 10 users and below, meaning the in-chat YouTube feature will now be exclusive to iOS 11 users only. Earlier, the feature was rolled out to all iOS users, but for some unknown reasons, the Facebook-owned company has now remotely disabled the YouTube support for iOS 10 and below versions. Back in November 2017, WhatsApp rolled out this feature to Apple iPhone users, allowing them to watch YouTube videos right from the app itself. In early 2018, WhatsApp added Picture-in-Picture support to the same feature, further enhancing the user experience.
WhatsApp watcher WABetaInfo reported this news on Twitter as: "WhatsApp has remotely disabled the YouTube support for iOS 10 and below, today. This feature will be an exclusive for iOS 11." However, the tweet did not mention why the feature got disabled for the iOS 10 users and below.
With the YouTube in WhatsApp feature, iOS users can watch YouTube videos right on the instant messaging application itself. For example, if someone sends a YouTube video link to you in a group or personal chat and if you click the link, the video will be opened in WhatsApp itself, rather than redirecting to the YouTube app. In Android, whenever a YouTube video link appears in WhatsApp app, it will redirect to the YouTube app.
Furthermore, WhatsApp rolled out PiP feature for YouTube in WhatsApp to enhance the user experience. With the PiP feature, users can minimise the video and continue chatting in WhatsApp; Also, they can switch between the chats with the help of PiP mode.
Starting today, iOS 10 and below users will not be able to use this feature as the company has remotely disabled it, but iOS 11 users can still use it.
WhatsApp is expected to change drastically in the coming days as it's now fully owned by Facebook as the instant messaging co-founder Jan Koum recently announced its departure. It is also expected that Facebook will start monetising the platform using ads, thanks to the full monty control is has over WhatsApp now. The company already announced WhatsApp group video calling and WhatsApp Stickers features for the platform at the recently concluded Facebook F8 Developers Conference.
