YouTube Vanced will be shutting down, after legal threat. The popular app is being discontinued after years of being available on the Android platform. Released first in 2018, YouTube Vanced is a sideloadable Android app that allows users to block ads, skip sponsored content, use a dark theme layout, and other useful tweaks, including bringing back the recently removed dislike button, bypassing the need for YouTube Premium. That combined with its popularity is likely why Google went after the project, serving them with a cease and desist. The Vanced team announced that due to "legal reasons", they'll be removing links to download the app from their website, and work on the project will be discontinued.

Existing installs of YouTube Vanced should still work for the foreseeable future, until Google makes significant changes to YouTube that would render the app useless.

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.

— Vanced Official (@YTVanced) March 13, 2022

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[nryn99]

The only thing I wanted vanced was for background play and no ads while playing music. I know downloading music or other music apps works better, but I wanted the random music google algorithm gives me.

I used to run yt music on xiaomi game booster just so I can turn of the display while listening but after trying out YT premium, it wasn't so bad. Not sure in other countries but YT Premium family in my country is about 2 hrs of work.

No hate on google but there will always be other alternative apps.

About the ads, it never bothered me. It's always been there since the free TV era, never paid for cable so I'm used to seeing 2-5 ads in 1 episode of Dragonball Z. Heck me and my brother even used to even play a game "guess the brand."

 

[NotEthanHobbes]

That’s a damn shame.

 

[HRudyPlayZ]

This is really bad, you guys should cancel your premium subscription if you have one, time to make them lose as much money as we can as individuals, fuck them. Continue using adblockers instead and don't worry too much about creators, you can always purchase merch or donate on platforms which don't give a dime to Google, YouTube ads pretty much gives you nothing as a creator anyways.

FYI, Vanced still works for now so no need to panic rush to find a new alternative real quick. YouTube almost never updates the API and if they do, it won't be tomorrow as it would mean cutting a lot of recent YouTube versions from it as well, and potentially a lot of devices in the process.

For alternatives, a great news is that one started being developed named Vuetube, the dev team says that in one or two months, it'll be ready for a public release with all YouTube and Vanced features, they also plan to have a plugin system.
Other good ones are the NewPipe fork with SponsorBlock and Kiwi/Firefox with browser extensions.

 

[Natsukashii]

This is really bad, you guys should cancel your premium subscription if you have one, time to make them lose as much money as we can as individuals, fuck them. Continue using adblockers instead and don't worry too much about creators, you can always purchase merch or donate on platforms which don't give a dime to Google, YouTube ads pretty much gives you nothing as a creator anyways.

FYI, Vanced still works for now so no need to panic rush to find a new alternative real quick. YouTube almost never updates the API and if they do, it won't be tomorrow as it would mean cutting a lot of recent YouTube versions from it as well, and potentially a lot of devices in the process.

For alternatives, a great news is that one started being developed named Vuetube, the dev team says that in one or two months, it'll be ready for a public release with all YouTube and Vanced features, they also plan to have a plugin system.
Other good ones are the NewPipe fork with SponsorBlock and Kiwi/Firefox with browser extensions.

newpipe doesn't support youtube account so it's hard to use it for me
will look into vuetube tho thanks

I saw a youtube video talking about using your browser with extension, you can install extension that allow background playback with screen off then use an adblock and even sponsor block so it's pretty close to youtube vanced

 

[Natsukashii]

Yes because I'm sure those are features google wants people using.

obviously they don't want you to do that but when it's open source there's no reason for going after them
Sponsor block is like a friend pushing fast forward for you, it's not using any data from youtube
return dislike use old youtube data and extrapolate user of the app pushing dislike/like to get an approximation
so same thing, not using any data from youtube

I do get the fact that alphabet had all the right to go after youtube vanced itself tho because they where modifying youtube code directly, they should have done like newpipe and making their own app. But vanced was so small that it wouldn't amount to more than a grain of sand in youtube user base. It was totally unnecessary

 

[godreborn]

well, I installed vanced a couple days ago. it's still working up till last night at least, haven't tested it since.

 

[Natsukashii]

well, I installed vanced a couple days ago. it's still working up till last night at least, haven't tested it since.

yeah the app will not die instantly from this, since vanced is a fork of youtube, google cannot desactivate it in the risk of blocking ppl that don't update their official youtube app. So I expect vanced to still work for a few years but it will not be updated to fix any missing features introduced in main youtube version.

Only issue is that youtube vanced isn't just an APK you can dowload, you need vanced manager that then download both micro.g and a split apk from vanced repositories. So if they close them down you will not be able to get the app easly even by typing youtube vanced apk on google, you need an app that can install split apk

 

[godreborn]

yeah the app will not die instantly from this, since vanced is a fork of youtube, google cannot desactivate it in the risk of blocking ppl that don't update their official youtube app. So I expect vanced to still work for a few years but it will not be updated to fix any missing features introduced in main youtube version.

Only issue is that youtube vanced isn't just an APK you can dowload, you need vanced manager that then download both micro.g and a split apk from vanced repositories. So if they close them down you will not be able to get the app easly even by typing youtube vanced apk on google, you need an app that can install split apk

yeah, I remember having to install micro g or vanced would crash. I got both from a site (not github) that houses apk files and cracks.

 

[Dark_Ansem]

First time I hear about this app is when it shuts down. Ah well.

 

[Marc_LFD]

I have been using Vanced, NewPipe, uBlock etc. for a very long time, and haven't seen a single YouTube ad for years. Last week I visited a friend of mine, who has purchased a new TV which also has a YouTube app preinstalled. He wanted to show me some videos on YouTube and my fucking goodness, has this platform become a fucking shithole. Every fucking video launches with an ad that's subjectively is as long as the fucking video itself. It's absolutely unusable without an ad blocker at this point.
The day where I'm not gonna be able to block ads on YouTube, is the day where I'll leave YouTube forever. And no, I'm not gonna pay those prices for premium.

I've used NewPipe before and wish it'd feel more of a complete experience. My main complaint is that videos wouldn't play whereas on YouTube/Chrome they would.

 

[CMDreamer]

Youtube App is one of the first apps I disable as soon as I get a new smart phone (if it even has it installed already), and most Google Apps follow closely after.

 

[tpax]

I've used NewPipe before and wish it'd feel more of a complete experience. My main complaint is that videos wouldn't play whereas on YouTube/Chrome they would.

What kind of videos? Never happened to me that a video on NewPipe wouldn't play. On the contrary, NewPipe was able to play age or region restricted videos, where Vanced failed.

 

[Marc_LFD]

What kind of videos? Never happened to me that a video on NewPipe wouldn't play. On the contrary, NewPipe was able to play age or region restricted videos, where Vanced failed.

Any video. Sometimes it worked after a reload.

 

[SMNFXCN]

https://telegra.ph/Vanced-Discontinuation-03-19
apparently it was C&D'd for the logo but i don't buy it
at the same time the could have taken it down earlier. i'm pretty sure they were well aware of it
this was posted in their TG chat

 

[Joker25]

I think piracy is unacceptable. People invest their power, their money, and should receive their profits for their efforts

 

[tpax]

I think piracy is unacceptable. People invest their power, their money, and should receive their profits for their efforts

Get lost, Google

 

[Marc_LFD]

I think piracy is unacceptable. People invest their power, their money, and should receive their profits for their efforts

Background playback, no ads... These features? It's stuff we've had on PC for free, well before many of us even had an Android (or iPhone) cellphone.

Paying for that, seriously? No. I'd rather use an alternative than give Google any money. I would pay for YT Premium if they still had Cobra Kai, but they lost that licensed content.

They've been ruining YouTube for years by removing "offensive" videos and the dislike bar, and someday it'll be the comment section. Who knows if the "You" becomes replaced with something else as they've been trying to make themselves look more so as a serious, professional streaming service.

Well, if they were a professional paid streaming service they'd have content worth paying for than features we already have for free.

 

[FAST6191]

https://telegra.ph/Vanced-Discontinuation-03-19
apparently it was C&D'd for the logo but i don't buy it
at the same time the could have taken it down earlier. i'm pretty sure they were well aware of it
this was posted in their TG chat

I imagine it was more of a means to an end for something youtube did not like.

Logos covered by trademarks and potentially confusing a customer for it being a legit product of a given company with said trademark is basic law, and fairly well entrenched in these circles (read any of the let's play agreements with "could cause confusion in a customer*/thinking the product is officially endorsed by" and it will jump out, and is often reasoning behind counters for fan games, the occasional ROM hack and such like.

*which in this case is in no way considered a sophisticated technical user (have you read youtube comments?).

As this would probably have been a clear cut case then "we will leave you alone if you don't fight it and remove links" becomes an easy decision for some.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I think piracy is unacceptable. People invest their power, their money, and should receive their profits for their efforts

You're on the wrong website buddy.

https://telegra.ph/Vanced-Discontinuation-03-19
apparently it was C&D'd for the logo but i don't buy it
at the same time the could have taken it down earlier. i'm pretty sure they were well aware of it
this was posted in their TG chat

Yeah. If it was just the logo it'd be a simple thing to remove it and continue like nothing happened.
I'm sure the logo was part of it, and the C&D document probably mentioned it among other things. Maybe it was even the "main" reason (read: the easiest one for Google to get them for), but the C&D documents I've seen always go in depth, and never mention just one reason.
On the other hand, it might make it significantly harder for Google to go after Vanced if they removed the logo and changed the name. At that point it's a matter of whether Google (and their lawyers) can prove a strong enough case in court as they wouldn't be able to rely on DMCA takedowns, but Vanced would probably rather it not go that far as there's no backing out at that point.

 

[Tsukiru]

I think piracy is unacceptable. People invest their power, their money, and should receive their profits for their efforts

Reducing the app to just piracy is a very good move on a website with a large modding scene, where we know already to not (loudly) talk about piracy. I used it to have a not god awful layout and have videos in the background. Also rip to the giant corporation, but there's a line with features I don't think you should hide behind a paywall. Screw Discord Nitro too.

Sad to see, but to be expected. I hope someone conveniently and quietly picks up where Vanced left off. App is jank but works when I needed it too. Here's to the next 2~ years.