YouTube Vanced is being shut down ‘due to legal reasons’

A popular third-party YouTube app, Vanced, has announced that they’re being shut down following legal threats from YouTube owner Google. 

In a statement posted on Twitter, the company announced that “Vanced has been discontinued,” officially putting an end to the project after four years. 

“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,” the company continued in their statement, alluding to the legal troubles they’ve gotten themselves into with tech giant Google. 

Previously, as The Verge confirms, the Vanced team had been sent a cease and desist letter from Google, which forced the company to stop distribution and development of the app, as well as remove all references to YouTube from the service.

Despite receiving the cease and desist letter and doing as they were told, it was later confirmed that currently installed versions of the app will work just fine until the software becomes outdated, which is expected to happen in about two years or so. 

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

While this news is disappointing, it’s no surprise that Vanced ended up getting itself into trouble with Google, since one of the main features of the app was that it skirted around many of YouTube’s ads, providing a better experience for many users as a result.