Google slaps YouTube Vanced with cease and desist
YouTube Vanced is discontinuing its modified version of YouTube’s official Android app that allows adblocking and background playback, the project has announced.
In an interview with The Verge, Vanced developers said they received a cease and desist letter from Google, forcing them to stop the app’s distribution and development.
Since Vance enables features Google charges for with YouTube Premium subscriptions, it’s not difficult to see why Google would crack down on such an app.
ArsTechnica reported that YouTube Vanced’s developers created their app around five years ago by decompiling the official YouTube app, adding additional features, and releasing their code online.
The developers included popular user-requested features, like removing pre-roll and mid-roll ads, background playback, and a re-enabled dislike counter.
Vanced’s developers stated that if you already have the app installed, it will continue to function “until they become outdated in 2 years or so.”
Vanced’s discontinuation is Google’s latest effort to stop third-party apps from blocking ads and providing other features YouTube charges for.
Last year, YouTube succeeded in shutting down two of Discord’s most popular music bots, Rhythm and Groovy, only weeks before launching ad-supported YouTube Music integration.
Some alternatives to YouTube Vanced remain available, such as NewPipe, SkyTube, and LibreTube.
YouTube Vanced has removed all download links from its official site and replaced them with referrals to use the Brave web browser or Adguard.
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