- YouTube Vanced has been discontinued, its developers announced.
- The unofficial app offered background listening, ad-free playback, and more.
There are quite a few unofficial YouTube apps available for Android, but YouTube Vanced is arguably the best one on the market. Unfortunately, the developers of the app have now revealed that it will be discontinued.
Vanced is a popular third-party YouTube app for Android, particularly because it allows YouTube users to block all video ads on YouTube without a Premium subscription. Vanced also includes a true black theme, and customizations not offered in the official YouTube for Android app.
The developers posted the announcement on Twitter on Sunday:
Vanced has been discontinued. In the coming days, the download links on the website will be taken down. We know this is not something you wanted to hear but it’s something we need to do. Thank you all for supporting us over the years.
YouTube Vanced’s team added in a follow-up tweet that the current version of the app will continue to work “until they become outdated in two years or so.” We’re guessing that the app will only work fine as long as Google doesn’t make major changes to YouTube or its mobile app.
Why was YouTube Vanced Shut down?
Google sent the Vanced owners a cease and desist letter recently, which has forced the developers to stop distributing and developing the app. “We were asked to remove all references to ‘YouTube’, change the logo, and remove all links related to YouTube products,”
It seems likely that the developers received a DMCA takedown or some sort of legal action from Google. After all, YouTube Vanced is a modified version of the standard YouTube app, introducing features like ad-free playback, a dislike counter, sponsor blocking within videos, and background video playback.
Some of these YouTube Vanced features like ad-free playback and background video listening require YouTube Premium in the official app. So it’s easy to see why Google may have taken action.
Loading ...This will still be a major disappointment for many enthusiasts. For what it’s worth, there are still several unofficial YouTube apps for Android that promise features like background video listening (such as Newpipe). So hopefully this removal spurs more app developments in this space. For now, let’s pour one out for YouTube Vanced.
I’ve paid for the YouTube family for ages now , I have given the family access to my family members and it doesn’t cost that much to never see an ad again honestly
I do the same thing for the family. Plus you get YouTube Music with YouTube Premium.
Thanks (unfortunately) to vanced dying someone gave me an iOS alternative called uYou+ pretty cool and has the same functionality and more since it can also download videos which is great!
I plan on continuing with Vanced, until it stops working. Then I’ll seek out an alternative.
I’m still going to use Vanced until it’s gone. It is an amazing app.
YouTube Vanced forever. YT premium doesn’t worth the money.