To keep up with TikTok‘s doomscrolling and Instagram Reels, YouTube brought Shorts to keep you swiping. A new discovery suggests the company is experimenting with something called “Tamba,” a mysterious project that looks suspiciously like YouTube’s answer to Instagram, complete with followers, private messages, and group chats.
The discovery comes from Android Authority, which uncovered references to the project while digging through version 21.44.534 of the YouTube app for Android. The findings suggest Tamba could exist as a standalone app, potentially giving Google an entirely new social platform built around YouTube’s existing ecosystem.
YouTube might be getting a serious social makeover
The biggest clue is a separate application package named com.google.android.youtube.sandbox, which appears to be associated with Tamba. They discovered a dedicated logo featuring the word “Tamba” alongside a scribbled design with a play button at its center. The collection also includes 38 custom icons, including symbols for home, search, camera, inbox, chat, stickers, and content creation.
Its design language is quite different from YouTube’s familiar interface, suggesting Google could be exploring an entirely different experience. However, the real interesting discoveries are buried in the app’s code. References to followers, follow requests, and approvals suggest Tamba could introduce private profiles. Other strings point to direct messaging, group chats, photo and video sharing, and even voice replies.
Some code strings suggest Shorts could be played directly within conversations, which might combine YouTube’s massive video library with a more traditional social networking experience. Dedicated onboarding and activity pages further strengthen the possibility of a distinct app.
An Instagram rival, or another Google experiment?
Tamba’s application package includes the word “sandbox,” a term developers commonly use for experimental software. Several of its icons are also explicitly labeled experimental, raising the possibility that Google is simply testing new social features before introducing them to YouTube.
YouTube brought back direct messaging earlier this year, allowing users in supported countries, including the US, to share videos and chat without leaving the platform. This might even turn into a bigger social networking platform with social feeds, private profiles, and group conversations materialize. As always, we have nothing concrete, and there’s no indication of when or even whether it will launch publicly.