YouTube Vanced APK Details
| App Name | YouTube Vanced |
| Category | Vanced Legacy APKs |
| Platform | Android |
| Download Status | Information Available |
Tags
YouTube Vanced APK Versions
All known APK versions for YouTube Vanced. Always verify file integrity before installing any version.
| Version | Release Date | Android | Size | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| v17.03.38 | 2022-03-13 | 8.0+ | ~85 MB | Non-Root | Final official release before discontinuation |
| v17.03.38 | 2022-03-13 | 8.0+ | ~85 MB | Root | Final root variant release |
| v16.29.39 | 2021-08-15 | 8.0+ | ~82 MB | Non-Root | Stable release with SponsorBlock improvements |
| v16.16.38 | 2021-05-20 | 8.0+ | ~80 MB | Non-Root | UI refresh and playback fixes |
| v15.43.32 | 2020-11-10 | 5.0+ | ~75 MB | Non-Root | Wide compatibility release |
| v15.33.34 | 2020-09-05 | 5.0+ | ~72 MB | Non-Root | Dark theme improvements |
| v15.05.54 | 2020-02-18 | 5.0+ | ~68 MB | Non-Root | Earlier stable build |
| v14.21.54 | 2019-06-15 | 5.0+ | ~60 MB | Non-Root | Legacy build for older devices |
Safety Information
YouTube Vanced was a modified build of Google's Android YouTube client, assembled by a small volunteer group that used the name Team Vanced. It stripped out advertising, let audio keep running with the screen off, and added a settings panel the stock app never had. Development ended in March 2022 after Google sent the team a legal notice, and 17.03.38 was the last build they published.
Who built it and what it changed
Vanced grew out of an older set of community patches that existed mainly to unlock background audio. A handful of developers rebuilt that idea into a maintained project, published builds through their own website and a companion installer, and funded the work through donations. It was never on Google Play.
The modifications were behavioural rather than structural. The app kept Google's interface and player, but ad requests were disabled, picture-in-picture and screen-off playback were unlocked rather than reserved for Premium accounts, default resolution and speed became sticky preferences, and a SponsorBlock client was wired into the seek bar.
How the shutdown happened
In March 2022 Team Vanced announced they had received a cease and desist letter from Google and would stop distributing the app. The website went down, the installer's update servers stopped answering, and nothing has been released under the Vanced name since.
That matters when you are reading download pages elsewhere. Any site advertising a fresh YouTube Vanced APK with a recent version string is either mislabelling a ReVanced build, repackaging the March 2022 file, or serving something you should not trust. There is no maintained Vanced release channel to update from.
What a legacy build can and cannot still do
Playback on an archived copy keeps working for a while, then degrades. YouTube changes its backend over time, and an old client eventually hits a response it cannot parse. Playback errors, blank home feeds and broken comment sections are the usual symptoms.
Signing in was never handled by the app itself on non-root installs. That job belonged to Vanced MicroG, and without it the app runs logged out, with no subscriptions and no playlists. Newer Android releases have also tightened sideload rules, so install behaviour varies by device.
Checking a YouTube Vanced APK before installing it
Open the file in a package inspector first. The non-root variant declared itself as com.vanced.android.youtube, which is why it could sit alongside the official app. The root variant used Google's own com.google.android.youtube identifier because it replaced the system copy. A file reporting some third identifier is not what its filename claims.
Compare the signing certificate against a copy you already trust, since Android refuses an update whose signature differs from the installed app. Team Vanced left behind no checksum list that can be independently confirmed today, so treat every mirror as unverified.
What people use instead
The practical replacement is the ReVanced route: you patch a copy of the official YouTube app yourself instead of downloading a prebuilt mod. It stays current because the patch set is still maintained. See the install walkthrough, or the comparison page for what changes.
YouTube Vanced APK: Frequently Asked Questions
No. That was the final Vanced release before the project closed in March 2022, and no successor has been published under the Vanced name.
Only with Vanced MicroG alongside it, and even then results are inconsistent because the sign-in flow depends on Google endpoints that have changed since 2022.
No. Any vulnerability present in the March 2022 code is still there, along with anything unpatched in the libraries it bundles.
No. Vanced was a finished app you installed. ReVanced is a patching tool that modifies a copy of the official YouTube app on your own device, and the two have different maintainers.