PSA: Google has disabled the best YouTube app on Android TV, but for good reason

SmartTube is arguably the most popular alternative to the YouTube app on Android TV, offering a variety of handy features and options. In fact, I prefer this app to the official YouTube client on TVs. Unfortunately, it looks like Google has disabled the app on Android TV.

Android TV owners reported this week that Google Play Protect has disabled SmartTube on their devices. Devices affected by this problem include the NVIDIA Shield TV, Walmart Onn boxes, Sony and TCL TVs, and more. It also looks like Amazon’s Fire OS-based devices have blocked the third-party YouTube app. I can indeed confirm that the app has been disabled on my Shield TV tube and disappeared from my home screen and app drawer.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be a false positive, as SmartTube developer yuliskov confirmed on GitHub and Patreon that their digital signature was exposed.

“This signature protects the app from fake and malicious updates, so there is a risk that someone may try to release counterfeit versions under my name,” the developer explained. They added that they’ve decided to switch to a new digital signature, which will also result in the app’s identifier changing.

“You don’t need to delete the old app (but it will no longer receive updates) — the new one will install as a separate app and will need to be configured again,” the developer concluded.

Some users have suggested that disabling Google Play Protect, disabling automatic app updates, and reinstalling SmartTube will allow you to use the app again. However, I’d strongly recommend that affected users leave Play Protect enabled and wait for the developer to release a new version of the app as a separate download. The good news is that SmartTube sees frequent releases, so you might not have to wait too long to see the new version.

In any event, I’m just glad SmartTube is still available on Android TV, as it offers a variety of useful features. This includes SponsorBlock support, live chat functionality, picture-in-picture support, robust video quality settings, and support for devices without Google integration. However, this saga does suggest that Google is doing a good job of addressing security issues on Android TV, even if it (temporarily) comes at the expense of a popular app.