Google just took down IPAs (Apple equivalent of APKs) of popular YouTube tweaks (github.com)
from Aatube@kbin.melroy.org to technology@lemmy.world on 08 Mar 2024 00:31
https://kbin.melroy.org/m/technology@lemmy.world/t/143006

Only the downloads were taken down
Some repos added instructions to compile through GitHub Actions

#google #ios #ipa #technology #tweak #youtube

threaded - newest

QuarterSwede@lemmy.world on 08 Mar 2024 01:12 next collapse

My favorite is still up. uYou+. šŸ¤·šŸ¼ā€ā™‚ļø

SSUPII@sopuli.xyz on 08 Mar 2024 01:38 next collapse

Various uYou+ reuploads were taken down

Aatube@kbin.melroy.org on 08 Mar 2024 03:05 collapse

The IPA releases were taken down, not anything else.

Also, look at uYouEnhanced.

QuarterSwede@lemmy.world on 08 Mar 2024 13:24 collapse

Who cares when Google still points to the site(s) where you can get them?

Aatube@kbin.melroy.org on 08 Mar 2024 13:24 collapse

What?

QuarterSwede@lemmy.world on 08 Mar 2024 13:27 collapse

I guess Iā€™m missing what youā€™re saying Google is doing. I can reach my + app without issue by searching in Google and get the IPA. Not seeing the problem.

Aatube@kbin.melroy.org on 08 Mar 2024 13:49 collapse

You can still use your installed app, of course, but download links on GitHub, including https://github.com/qnblackcat/uYouPlus/releases and uyouplus.com, have been taken down

QuarterSwede@lemmy.world on 09 Mar 2024 01:36 next collapse

What does that have to do with Google though. GitHub is owned by Microsoft.

Aatube@kbin.melroy.org on 09 Mar 2024 02:15 collapse

...Google sent GitHub the DMCA.

QuarterSwede@lemmy.world on 09 Mar 2024 02:20 collapse

Ahh. Thatā€™s the piece I missed. Itā€™s a Friday. lol. Thanks.

Zagorath@aussie.zone on 09 Mar 2024 10:10 collapse

Itā€™s a Friday

Man, my logical brain knows how this works, but it still weirds me out when I can see a comment ā€œ8 hours agoā€ at 8 pm on Saturday that reads ā€œitā€™s a Fridayā€. My intuition is likeā€¦ā€œ10 hours behind? No problem. 15+ hours behind? Huh???ā€

QuarterSwede@lemmy.world on 09 Mar 2024 14:25 collapse

I think I posted it at 7:30p on Friday evening. Says it was 12 hours ago. Itā€™s currently Sat morning here at 7:25a if that helps.

PopShark@lemmy.world on 09 Mar 2024 10:43 collapse

Holy crap I just happened to keep the copy of the uYouPlus ipa file I was going to delete it since I use a resigned version that I used my old expired apple developer account to sign as totally my personal app and install via xcode to my iPhone and that way it doesnā€™t expire or have to be renewed like I guess most third party apps doā€¦ I only did it this way because the two other methods of installation didnā€™t work for me. But I kept the og ipa if I need to downgrade back to it which I did a week ago because the newest version of the app broke sponsorblock and a couple other minute things.

Anyway I have a copy of I think v19.02.1-3.0.1 ipa

Aatube@kbin.melroy.org on 09 Mar 2024 14:51 collapse

uYouEnhanced has a SideStore source that still downloads. It gives v19.09.4-3.0.3

PopShark@lemmy.world on 09 Mar 2024 20:08 collapse

Oh OK cool thatā€™s good to know so they creators probably just took off the GitHub releases to comply with Googleā€™s bullshit but anything on any other websites or any other repos is fair game

someguy3@lemmy.ca on 08 Mar 2024 01:48 next collapse

Can someone please translate what that means?

Aatube@kbin.melroy.org on 08 Mar 2024 03:06 next collapse

IPAs are the iOS equivalent of APKs. As long as you don't sideload over 3 apps (which is actually 2 if you want to avoid having to connect your device to your computer every week, and even less if you have apps that do things other than being apps), you can sideload IPAs.

Google made GitHub take down all the downloads but not the repositories themselves.

warmaster@lemmy.world on 08 Mar 2024 03:13 collapse

Wait a sec. Apple allows sideloading but only 3 apps, otherwise you need to connect to a PC on a weekly basis? What for?

Aatube@kbin.melroy.org on 08 Mar 2024 03:20 next collapse

Hobbyist development.

Not sure if this has changed for free due to EU regulation.

abhibeckert@lemmy.world on 08 Mar 2024 04:38 next collapse

Apple has always allowed side loading just not as a method of mainstream distribution.

App developers use it all the time and not just on their own devices, itā€™s also used to beta test apps.

There area few different ways it can be done with varying limitations. But in general it is absolutely possible to install apps outside of the App Store. In fact side-loading has been around since before the App Store even existed.

Almost anyone (except Tim Sweeney) can register for a developer account. And in fact you donā€™t even need to, since most people who side-load are testers not developers. Developers can deploy a pre-release build of their app to up to ten thousand regular iPhone owners bypassing the app store entirely.

I have no idea what theyā€™re talking about with ā€œonly 3 appsā€. As an iOS developer Iā€™ve got countless side loaded apps on my iPhone. Some of them are test builds of my own apps, some of them are test builds of other peopleā€™s apps, some of them are hobby projects where Iā€™ve slapped together an app in a weekend ā€”Ā not good enough for public distribution but it works for me and Iā€™ve been using them for years.

evident5051@lemm.ee on 08 Mar 2024 06:37 next collapse

The current method for sideloading apps without a developer account seems to be limited to three separate apps at a time.

Aatube@kbin.melroy.org on 08 Mar 2024 12:07 collapse

You need to pay a lot for a dev account

mriguy@lemmy.world on 09 Mar 2024 12:36 collapse

$99/year is a lot of youā€™re just doing it to side load. If youā€™re using all the tools available, itā€™s not that much.

ShadowCat@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 08 Mar 2024 10:15 collapse

they probably just want to make it as inconvenient as possible

Spotlight7573@lemmy.world on 08 Mar 2024 08:50 collapse

As for what these were, they are modified versions of the official YouTube app. What has been taken down is the full modified app files (.ipa) ready to install on an iPhone, not the source code to the tweaks that are in the repos.

These modifications do things like replicate the paid YouTube Premium features, from the uYou features list for example:

  • Ad-Free Browsing: Bid farewell to interruptions and enjoy seamless video playback without annoying advertisements.
  • Background Playback: Keep your favorite videos running in the background while you multitask or lock your device.
  • Video and Audio Downloads: Download videos, shorts, and audio tracks in various formats, including MP4 and WebM, for offline viewing and listening pleasure.
  • [ā€¦]

You can see why Google would want to have them taken down. They arenā€™t even a re-implementation with their own code/UI like NewPipe.

webghost0101@sopuli.xyz on 08 Mar 2024 10:55 collapse

So why are people in this thread glad google is doing this?

I thought Lemmy was all pirates and anti monopolies, dont we all have adblock? And background playback used to be default. It was explicitly removed to exploit.

I am not trying to argue but can someone explain why there rooting for the power addicted mega company?

Evilcoleslaw@lemmy.world on 08 Mar 2024 14:35 next collapse

The only comment I see being glad about it is a joke about the style of beer also called an IPA.

webghost0101@sopuli.xyz on 08 Mar 2024 15:47 collapse

I saw the woooosh and it still woooshed right over me. Have never encountered it.

Spotlight7573@lemmy.world on 08 Mar 2024 21:07 next collapse

I think thereā€™s a difference between a third-party app/frontend and a modded app like these. One is at least trying to provide their own value, and stuff like NewPipe for example can support multiple services in the same UI, a feature I wish was better supported in streaming as I dislike trying to navigate all the individual apps. Modifying a serviceā€™s app to remove the ads while still consuming their bandwidth and not putting in the effort to make your own app feels worse for me for some reason. At least pirates generally tend to use their own bandwidth and servers to distribute things instead of leeching directly off the original.

Hope that helps explain it for at least one person.

Aatube@kbin.melroy.org on 08 Mar 2024 23:30 collapse

It's not just removing the ads, though. NewPipe also, of course, consumes YouTube's bandwidth.

Spotlight7573@lemmy.world on 09 Mar 2024 04:02 collapse

Iā€™m not saying NewPipe doesnā€™t use their bandwidth, just that taking YouTubeā€™s app/UI code too just feels worse to me for some reason. Itā€™s less about the logic of it and more about the feeling.

pory@lemmy.world on 09 Mar 2024 20:28 collapse

The equivalents for Android, precompiled ReVanced APKs, are commonly used to spread malware. Following the instructions to patch the app yourself isnā€™t hard. Google taking down precompiled modded versions of YouTube but leaving patches and the the tools anybody can use to apply them is a neutral thing at worst.

Also I donā€™t see anyone in this thread glad that Google did this, aside from the first half of the joke / fakeout / pun post about IPA beer.

yoshisaur@lemm.ee on 08 Mar 2024 01:49 next collapse

damn. the one i use (uYouEnhanced) got taken down. wonder how long i can keep using it

Aatube@kbin.melroy.org on 08 Mar 2024 03:05 collapse

The IPA releases were taken down, not anything else. Also, "some repos" šŸ˜‰

deezbutts@lemm.ee on 08 Mar 2024 02:44 next collapse

Good.

In my experience the people crafting these are getting out of hand. When I see these wall to wall in a storefront it makes me wonder what happened to a good old lager.

Eggyhead@kbin.run on 08 Mar 2024 06:58 next collapse

I think this has less to do with people getting out of hand and more to do with the way Google is running YouTube.

lovesickoyster@lemmy.world on 08 Mar 2024 07:02 collapse

whoooosh

Eggyhead@kbin.run on 08 Mar 2024 09:31 next collapse

Ahā€¦ IPAs. Good one. Missed the forest for the trees there.

lovesickoyster@lemmy.world on 08 Mar 2024 10:12 next collapse

happens to the best of us :)

[deleted] on 08 Mar 2024 11:56 collapse

.

nandeEbisu@lemmy.world on 08 Mar 2024 21:21 collapse

Careful, sounds like that one might foam up out of the bottle.

[deleted] on 08 Mar 2024 14:03 collapse

.

ICastFist@programming.dev on 09 Mar 2024 02:22 collapse

Bro, no need to be so bitter about it

Random_internet_user@lemmy.today on 08 Mar 2024 03:40 next collapse

Will newpipe and its fork be affected ? If not i donā€™t give a fuck .

tourist@lemmy.world on 08 Mar 2024 08:16 next collapse

Newpipeā€™s fork?

The one w/ sponsorblock?

Tick_Dracy@lemm.ee on 08 Mar 2024 09:12 next collapse

Thatā€™s called Tubular, now.

Random_internet_user@lemmy.today on 08 Mar 2024 09:22 collapse

There are several i use pipe pipe i also use libretube it is a piped youtube client

skymtf@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 08 Mar 2024 23:18 collapse

Newpipeā€™s fork?

I donā€™t think so cause unlike the tweaked youtube apps, new pipe just happens to just scrape the video off youtube which is publicly accessible

Mubelotix@jlai.lu on 09 Mar 2024 10:23 collapse

Same for grayjay

aluminium@lemmy.world on 08 Mar 2024 07:17 collapse

Never was a aware these existed, good to know