Team Vanced announced the shutdown in March 2022 after a legal request from Google, and the final release, 17.03.38, is where the app stopped. Nobody has updated it since. What follows compares the two as they stood, then answers the question people are actually asking when they search for this: what should I do now.
YouTube Vanced vs YouTube Premium at a glance
| Feature | YouTube Vanced | YouTube Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Discontinued | Active |
| Cost | Free | Paid |
| Ad-free | Yes | Yes |
| Background play | Yes | Yes |
| SponsorBlock | Yes | No |
| iOS | No | Yes |
| Offline downloads | No | Yes |
| Official | No | Yes |
| Creator revenue | No | Yes |
| Security updates | None since 2022 | Ongoing |
| Reliable sign-in today | No | Yes |
The row worth reading twice is offline downloads. People assume a modified app could unlock everything, and it could not. Ad blocking and background audio were decided inside the app, so they were changeable. Downloads and Music entitlements are checked against your account on Google's servers, which no local modification reaches. That line ran through every comparison of this kind and still does.
When Vanced made sense
Vanced appealed to Android users who wanted ad-free playback, background audio, and SponsorBlock without paying. Because it mirrored the official app so closely, moving over from stock YouTube took almost no adjustment.
The install effort was modest by the standards of modified apps: Vanced Manager fetched and installed everything, MicroG handled the account, and the result looked and behaved like the app people already knew. That familiarity is why it spread far beyond the usual sideloading audience, and why its disappearance left so many people searching for a replacement.
Why Premium wins today
YouTube Premium is now the only supported route to ad-free official YouTube on iOS, offline downloads, and bundled YouTube Music. Vanced stopped receiving updates in March 2022, gets no security patches, and login on old installs keeps breaking as Google changes its authentication.
Running the old build now means a frozen client against a service that has moved on four years. Features fail one at a time with no fix coming, and the file you download is unlikely to be the one Team Vanced released, because the official distribution is gone and mirrors have filled the gap. Our download status page covers what those files actually are.
Cost Reality
Premium is a monthly subscription, priced by country with student and family tiers, so the number that matters is the one shown for your own account. Vanced was free in money and is now expensive in a different currency: unreliable login, no security fixes, and time spent chasing problems that have no solution. Free stopped being the right word for it some time ago.
Common Misconceptions
- "Vanced is back." No member of Team Vanced has published a build since 2022. Sites announcing new releases are describing something else, usually a repackaged APK of unknown origin.
- "ReVanced is Vanced renamed." Different project, different people, different approach. ReVanced patches the current official app rather than shipping a modified one, which is why it can keep working.
- "The old app still does everything it used to." Playback often survives. Sign-in frequently does not, and anything depending on YouTube's servers degrades over time.
- "A modified app could have unlocked downloads." It could not, then or now, for the reason described above.
Our Take
There is no version of this decision where installing the old app is the right answer in 2026, and we would say that plainly. If you are on Android and the patching workflow appeals to you, ReVanced is the maintained successor and it does what Vanced did, with upkeep as the price. If you want something that works on every device without thought, the subscription is the option that provides it. The old app belongs in the history section of this site, which is where we have put it. With Vanced discontinued, the comparison that actually matters today is ReVanced and YouTube Premium.
Frequently Asked Questions
The final build, version 17.03.38, still installs on most Android devices and will play video. Sign-in is the weak point, because it depends on Vanced MicroG and Google has changed its authentication repeatedly since 2022. Expect a signed-out experience at best, with features degrading whenever YouTube adjusts something on its servers.
Team Vanced announced the end in March 2022 after receiving a legal request from Google, and stopped distribution shortly afterwards. The developers said publicly that they would not continue, and no member of the team has published a build since. Anything advertised as a new Vanced release comes from someone else entirely.
It is the only official way. On Android, ReVanced covers the same ground as a maintained community project, applying patches to the current YouTube app rather than shipping a frozen one. That is a genuine alternative with genuine upkeep attached. On iOS and on televisions, the subscription is effectively the answer.
No, and this is the feature comparison people most often get wrong. Downloads are checked against your account on Google's servers, so a modified client could not grant them. Ad blocking and background audio were enforced inside the app, which is why those two could be changed and downloads could not.
The final official build is the same file it always was, but it has received no security fixes in years, and the greater risk is the file you actually downloaded. Most copies circulating now come from mirrors with no accountability, and a repackaged APK can contain anything. If you install one, verify what you have rather than trusting a filename.
It stopped being maintained along with the rest of the project. It still installs, and on some devices it still authenticates, but login failures are common and nobody is fixing them. ReVanced's GmsCore does the equivalent job and is actively maintained.