YouTube Vanced is a popular modification for the Android version of the YouTube app. It allows the user to skip ads, enjoy background playback, and features in-video sponsor skips. Is it any wonder it was shut down? Let's find out.

YouTube Vanced Receives Cease-and-Desist Letter

screenshot of the youtube vanced telegram announcement

Operating since early 2018, YouTube Vanced has managed to evade legal repercussions from Google for circumventing their YouTube Premium service. Seeing as some consider the YouTube Premium package to be somewhat of a mixed bag, YouTube Vanced was a welcome option for many.

While the service was always skating on thin ice, recently the development team have announced that they have received a cease and desist letter from Google.

The YouTube Vanced app is no longer permitted to use any YouTube iconography, or link into the YouTube service in any way. Effectively, killing the program.

What Does This Mean for the YouTube Vanced App?

YouTube Vanced will continue to function in the meantime, however, the download links will soon be removed. Exactly how long the app is expected to function without support is unclear, but the development team seems to expect the app will work for about two years.

This is in no way a confirmed end of life plan for the app. Without official support, any update to the backend of YouTube could break functionality of the YouTube Vanced app. If you use the YouTube Vanced app, now might be a good time to consider alternatives.

Why Did Google Shutdown YouTube Vanced?

At this stage, very little is known about the situation. It seems most likely that this is simply a matter of Google taking down a competitor to a product they are trying to sell: YouTube Premium.

Still, there are some stirrings within the community that recent actions on behalf of the YouTube Vanced development team may have instigated this. Namely, the attempted sale of a YouTube Vanced NFT just a few months prior.

There is some speculation that this attempt to generate profit from YouTube Vanced may have forced Google's hand.

YouTube Vanced did not end up going through with the NFT sale, and had made a public announcement that they would avoid any cryptocurrency integration in the future. They have made no comment on a possible link between the YouTube Vanced NFT and the discontinuation of the app.

Farewell, YouTube Vanced

YouTube Vanced will be missed by many and leave a vacuum in the world of modified YouTube apps. Thankfully, it's likely that something else will be quick to fill that void.

The question now is, will Google continue to go after these sorts of modifications, or is the Vanced takedown a one-time move? Only time will tell.