YouTube Vanced is shutting down after a legal threat from Google

• YouTube Vanced is a popular third-party YouTube app that blocks all ads and offers premium YouTube features for free.
  
• Vanced also offers a wide range of customisation options, including a true black theme and re-enabling the dislike button, among other things.
  
• YouTube Premium subscriptions start at ₹129 per month.
  

YouTube Vanced, a popular community modification of the YouTube Android app, is shutting down after the developers of the app received a legal threat from Google. The project is set to be shut down in the coming days and the download links will soon be removed, the developers of the app revealed.

The cease and desist letter sent to the developers of YouTube Vanced required the logo to be changed, and all references and links to YouTube to be removed.

What is YouTube Vanced?

Also known as just Vanced, this is a third-party app developed by the community to get around several YouTube restrictions and changes. As an added advantage, it also blocks all ads – including sponsor content – without getting a YouTube Premium subscription.

The official YouTube app has not been well-received by Android enthusiasts for various reasons. Vanced allowed those users to customize their YouTube experience to their liking, with several features like a true black theme, removing Shorts, ads for movies on YouTube, several video player-related options, bringing back the dislike button and more.

The YouTube Vanced app also allowed users to play videos in the background and block all ads without paying a dime – both of which usually require a YouTube Premium subscription which starts at ₹129 per month.

Not the first unofficial YouTube app to be killed

Vanced is not the first unofficial YouTube app to be killed. In fact, YouTube’s legal team had recently sent similar cease and desist letters to two popular Discord bots, Groovy and Rhythm, which allowed listening to music.

That said, Vanced is not the only unofficial YouTube app available for Android – there are others like the open-source NewPipe which continue to work, and given its open-source nature, its chances of survival could be better than Vanced.

You can still use Vanced for the time being, though, and if you are an existing user, you might want to update to the latest version since the download links will soon be dead.

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