Google has banned access to YouTube

 

Google has banned access to YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps apps and even Google Play Store on many phones. Here’s what you need to know if you have these smartphones.

Earlier this year, Google revealed that it has over three billion active Android devices, which include smartphones and tablets. These devices are all running various versions of the Android operating system, from the older versions like Gingerbread all the way up to Android 11, which was released last September. Google, which is all set to launch Android 12, has revealed that it is now slapping a ban on Google accounts of many users who have the old versions of its software including Android 2.3 - also referred to as Android Gingerbread. So, this means that if you have this software on your phone, Google has banned YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps apps for you. In fact, YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps apps will stop working on all older devices running on that OS version.

Most users, however, will not need to worry, as Android 2.3 Gingerbread was released back in 2010, and hardly any ten-year-old Android devices are active today, a number that is low enough for Google to shut down support for the service. Google has also said it is removing support for this outdated operating system as part of its ongoing efforts to keep users safe on the platform. The company had previously barred contactless payments on devices running the older operating system back in 2017.

If a user tries to log in to their Android smartphone running the very outdated Android 2.3 operating system, they will see an error related to the username and password. Even if they try and enter the details again, 

Google will display the same error message, and the only way to fix the issue will be to upgrade to a new version of Android, namely Android 3.0 or Android 4.0, if such an update is available for the device. In case there is no update available, users will simply have to upgrade their smartphone to a newer model, which is running a more recent version of the operating system.