We reported last month about an update to the YouTube app for tvOS that introduced its own screensavers, hijacking Apple TV’s default Aerial screensaver – which upset many users. After many complaints, YouTube seems to have rolled back this update.
YouTube removes its screensavers from tvOS app
As noted by Joe Rosensteel (via Sigmund Judge), who was also one of the first to report on the YouTube update last month, it seems that the app no longer hijacks the Apple TV screensaver. Previously, when users left the YouTube app open for a while, it would start showing a random slideshow of images and videos instead of the Aerial screensavers.
Now, based on Rosensteel’s tests, it seems that YouTube has listened to its users and will no longer force its own screensaver on Apple TV. Although the app itself hasn’t been updated, Google has probably made some server-side change to disable the app’s screensavers.
“To test what Glenn was reporting I went to my living room Apple TV, which is still on tvOS 17.4. No YouTube screensaver. I asked around a few places and people reported that they don’t have the previously reported screensaver behavior now either,” Rosensteel wrote in his blog.
This is certainly good news for Apple TV users. Although the YouTube screensavers were harmless, some people were afraid that the app would use this space to show ads in the future. Even Google executive Philipp Schindler said earlier this year that the company was testing a way to show ads on TVs when a video is paused.
Has the YouTube app stopped hijacking your Apple TV screensaver? Let us know in the comments section below.
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