Android Authority has found in the version 21.44.534 from YouTube for Android references to “Tamba”, an application with its own package, logo, 38 icons and code for followers, direct messages, group chats and publications. There is no official announcement, date or confirmation that it will reach users.
More than a chat: what Tamba would have and YouTube would not
The direct messages that YouTube already offers in Spain are very limited: you must be over 18 years of age, the conversation begins with an invitation link sent from another app and you can only share videos, direct messages and Shorts, without photos or files. Tamba chains go much further. They talk about follow up requests and its approvalwhich points to private profiles, in addition to photos, videos, group chats, hearts in publications and responses with a voice note or with a Short. According to the code, Shorts would play within chats and from the bottom navigation bar.
That jump fits with the roadmap that YouTube has already made public: group chats for the main app this fall in the US, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Brazil and some European countries, without it being known if Spain enters. Tamba would seem to go one step further and go from «share videos with friends» to have your own network of contacts.
Experiment or real product?
The word “sandbox”, the icons marked experimental, and the internal name “Project Sandbox” suggest a testbed, and Android Authority presents it more as an experiment than as a closed product. There also remains a mystery: a reference to a “mini app” that the media still does not know how to interpret. My reading is that YouTube is not so much looking for its own “Instagram” as it is to recover the conversation that happens today on WhatsApp when someone pastes a link to a video. Google also doesn’t have an encouraging track record with social networks, from Google+ to Spaces, so it is advisable to be cautious.
What changes for you?
For now, nothing: cannot install or test Tambaand code chains do not guarantee that it will ever be launched. The only thing that can be verified in Spain is if the messages icon has already appeared on YouTube, which is displayed little by little. In Mexico, the sources consulted do not confirm that the messages are availableand for Tamba there is no data on countries or minimum age.
