Juno, a widely praised (unofficial) YouTube app for Vision Pro, has been removed from Apple’s App Store after complaints from Google, according to an update from Juno’s developer Christian Selig. Google, Selig says, suggested that his app violates their trademark.
It’s the latest setback for Selig, who shut down his popular Reddit client Apollo last year after the company changed its developer policies to charge for use of its API. The shutdown of Apollo and other apps like it ignited a sitewide protest from Reddit users and moderators.
This time, Selig says he doesn’t want drama, noting the $5 app was a “hobby project” for him to tinker with developing for visionOS. “I really enjoyed building Juno, but it was always something I saw as fundamentally a little app I built for fun,” Selig wrote on his website. “Because of that, I have zero desire to spin this into a massive fight akin to what happened with Reddit years ago.”
It’s unclear what aspect of Juno may have been the issue. Selig says that Google referenced its “trademarks and iconography” in a message to Apple, “stating that Juno does not adhere to YouTube guidelines and modifies the website” in a way that’s not permitted. “I don’t personally agree with this, as Juno is just a web view, and acts as little more than a browser extension that modifies CSS to make the website and video player look more ‘visionOS’ like,” Selig explains. “No logos are placed other than those already on the website, and the ‘for YouTube’ suffix is permitted in their branding guidelines.”
Google hasn’t made its own YouTube app for Vision Pro, though the company said in February such an app was “on our roadmap.” The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Selig says that people who have already paid for the app should be able to keep using it for the time being, though there’s a chance a future YouTube update could end up bricking it.
Conclusion:
Despite the challenges faced by Christian Selig with the removal of his Juno app from the Apple App Store, it is clear that he remains resilient and focused on his visionOS projects. While some may see this as a setback, Selig views Juno as a passion project and is not interested in escalating the situation into a larger conflict. It is a reminder that even in the ever-evolving world of app development, creativity and innovation can be met with obstacles, but the determination to create something unique and enjoyable for users remains unwavering.
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