We are building a mobile app targeting iOS/Android. The app needs to show certain YouTube videos. Ideally, I would love to get a mobile app native video player for the best user experience.
While looking into this, I found that the Android player API is deprecated in favor of IFrame integration. When I visit the IFrame documentation there's a link to a Google conference video that's 12 years old. I feel there must have been some advancements during a decade.
I have also come across many open-source projects that fetch the videos from the YouTube API and use the video URL to play them inside a native video player. This might not be legal, but I couldn't find any reference to prove or deny this assumption.
So, as of 2023, is the IFrame still the official way of embedding YouTube videos into mobile apps? Is there a better option than the IFrame?
[...] You are not allowed to:
access, reproduce, download, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, alter, modify or otherwise use any part of the Service or any Content except: (a) as specifically permitted by the Service [...] circumvent, disable, fraudulently engage, or otherwise interfere with the Service (or attempt to do any of these things), including security-related features or features that: (a) prevent or restrict the copying or other use of Content [...]
Many (if not all) non-official methods circumvent / disable many of these bans, so I don't think they are legal.