why you shouldn’t use them

Vanced, a well-known alternative to the YouTube app, is shutting down after Google threatened legal action. The app was popular because you could watch YouTube videos without ads appearing in between. We explain why it is better to ignore the alternatives to Vanced.

What was YouTube Vanced?

Vanced had quickly become a popular alternative to Google’s regular YouTube app. As a Vanced user, you did not have to take out a YouTube Premium subscription to watch videos without advertising. The app could also play videos in the background, there was Cast support and a really dark theme. Different from YouTube’s light gray theme.

Vanced’s undermining of the main benefit of its YouTube Premium subscription – the ability to remove ads – was a thorn in the side of Google. The company threatened legal action in a letter to the developers of Vanced. The developers therefore announced on Monday that support for the app will end and that Vanced is no longer available via the website.

If you already have the app on your phone, it will continue to work. But it is unknown for how long that will be. You can read online on forums and in the comments on Androidworld about numerous alternatives to Vanced. All apps that allow you to watch YouTube ad-free. We explain why it is better to ignore this and what really is the best alternative.

Support for content creators

YouTube is a free platform, but to keep the app free and to support content creators, it offers ads that you see before or during a video. Advertisers pay YouTube to show those ads and with that money YouTube can pay the creators who make all the fun, funny and interesting videos on the platform.

In other words, users who use YouTube Vanced, or any of its alternatives, do not support their favorite Youtubers. And without revenue, many of those content creators would either quit or just make less quality videos.

But how much does a content creator on YouTube make exactly? A Youtuber with 100,000 subscribers whose videos are viewed a million times per month, earns about 1,000 euros per month, the NOS knows. When you watch a video without ads appearing, a Youtuber does not get any income. Often the largest Youtubers also have other forms of income, for example by tying sponsors or selling merchandise, but that is often not given to the smaller content creators.

How YouTube Premium works

If you really can’t stand advertising on YouTube – and we understand that – maybe consider getting YouTube Premium. In exchange for a monthly fee of 11.99 euros you can watch ad-free and you also get the right to the music service YouTube Music.

If you want those services for the whole family, you have the Family formula for 17.99 euros per month. If you have already subscribed to a music service, you can also only remove the ads from videos with the YouTube Premium Lite subscription. That costs 6.99 euros per month.

A question that might bother you: “How can you specifically support your favorite Youtubers by paying a fixed subscription fee?” We find the answer on a YouTube Help page. In principle, Google shares that subscription money with all content creators, but in addition, your favorite Youtubers earn more if you watch more of their videos.

cat and mouse game

Still not convinced that an ad-free alternative to YouTube is not the best choice? Then know that you can now better watch out for apk files from YouTube Vanced that are still circulating. The Vanced apk is no longer available on the developer’s official website and versions from other sources may contain malware.

If you are considering looking for another alternative to Vanced, be aware that there is a real chance that the developers of these apps will also have to throw in the towel in the foreseeable future. Google has focused on the most popular app with Vanced, but it may not stop there. So it can turn out to be a typical cat-and-mouse game.

What do you think? Can you live with the advertising on YouTube or are you subscribed to YouTube Premium? Maybe you used YouTube Vanced and are now going with the Premium subscription for the first time, or with another app to watch ad-free? Let us know in the comments at the bottom of this article.