This is a known bug on KitKat. The legacy WebView renderer crashes on some comment threads. The better alternative is to use YouTube 14.21.54 , which uses an older comment rendering system that is more stable.

If you try to sideload a standard, modern APK, you will get a "Parse Error" because the SDK (Software Development Kit) level is incompatible.

In 2020, Google officially ended support for Android 4.4 KitKat. The latest YouTube app (versions 17.x and above) requires Android 8.0 (Oreo) or higher. These new apps rely on modern libraries (like AndroidX and specific WebView implementations) that simply do not exist on Android 4.4.2.

Eventually, Google will kill the legacy API endpoints. As of October 2024 predictions, version 16.02.35 still works. If it suddenly stops playing videos, you must switch to NewPipe , as it uses a different method to scrape video streams. Final Verdict: Which APK is the "Better Download"? Stop searching for miracle modern APKs. They do not exist.

If you want the and can tolerate slight lag: 👉 Download YouTube 16.02.35 (armeabi-v7a).