Google Allegedly Removes Juno YouTube from Vision Pro App Store

Christian Selig, the creator behind the Reddit Apollo app, developed this new application as a hobby project.

Juno’s Withdrawal from the App Store

Christian Selig, developer of the acclaimed unofficial Juno app for Vision Pro, reports that Apple has removed the app from its App Store following complaints by Google. Google claims that Selig’s app violates their trademark rights.

Another Setback for Christian Selig

Selig has encountered similar issues before. Last year, he was forced to shut down his popular Reddit client, Apollo, after the platform changed its API usage policies. The closure of Apollo and similar apps sparked widespread protests from Reddit users and moderators.

Selig’s Perspective

This time, Selig wishes to avoid any “drama”. He regards the $5 app as a “hobby project” that provided him fun while developing for visionOS. “I really enjoyed building Juno, but I always viewed it fundamentally as a small app that I built for fun,” Selig stated on his website.

What was the Issue with Juno?

The exact issue with Juno remains unclear. Selig notes that Google cited “trademarks and iconography” in a message to Apple, alleging that Juno does not comply with YouTube’s guidelines and alters the website in an unauthorized manner. Selig disagrees, explaining that Juno merely acts as a web view and browser extension that modifies the CSS to make the website and video player more akin to “visionOS”.

Google has not yet developed its own YouTube app for Vision Pro, although it announced in February that such an app was “in our plans”. The company has not immediately responded to a request for comment.

For now, Selig states that those who have already purchased the app should be able to continue using it, though future YouTube updates might render it unusable.