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There is a YouTube update that's been pending on my Android for 1-1/2 years. I haven't agreed to it because YouTube decided that it needs access to my contacts. IMO, if Google needs to know who I communicate with in order to watch videos, they don't respect my privacy at all.

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On the other hand, a Google product (YouTube) is asking for permission to access information already available to another Google product (Android). If Google had no respect for your privacy, they wouldn't even ask.

Respect for privacy is a continuum and Google isn't on either extreme. I'd even go so far as to say that different parts of Google have different stances on privacy. People who try to make them into a monolith with a single binary stance on the issue are lacking nuance.

I don't think it's an issue that deserves nuance because it's not unreasonable that they should behave as a monolith with regard to privacy. It should be a top-down corporate policy.

I stopped using official Youtube long ago. I recommend SkyTube and NewPipe. They are awesome!

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