While the story of YouTube Vanced (later just Vanced) seems like it's mostly over after the app shuttered operations, the folks behind the beloved mod apparently still have more to say. Several rumors have spun up regarding the app's demise, so on Saturday, the team behind Vanced posted an article on anonymous blogging platform Telegra.ph titled "Vanced Discontinuation." It purported to brief anyone "having trouble understanding the reason" why the application was discontinued.

The post dismissed rumors that Vanced was stopped for reasons related to NFTs or a shoutout from a media group and also claimed the takedown had nothing to do with allegations of piracy or issues with ad-blocking. Additionally, in response to rumors that Vanced devs were Russian, the post stated that "[none] of the team members are in Russia or Ukraine, nor do they have any links to those countries."

Vanced also denied that their app had any "illegal" features, then gave what the folks behind the app say are the "actual" reasons they received a cease and desist letter:

  • Vanced is discontinued for "legal reasons" as vanced was infringing the logo and branding of the original YouTube app as the logo resembles the original logo in a similar way and was used without taking prior permission from Google for using the branding.
  • We were asked to remove all links for the distribution of any vanced apps that results in the decision of discontinuation.

The statement went on to say that the team behind Vanced would never reveal the app's source code to the public. Doing so could "cause serious complications for us." Also, forget about ever downloading the app again. All links to a downloadable version of Vanced have been deleted and the Vanced team says they can't help with alternate methods of grabbing a version of the app, either.

Vanced concluded by asking disappointed fans of the app not to attack anyone over its demise and to alert them to any other false information. So, there you have it for Vanced, the original — RIP. One of the reasons so many loved Vanced is because the app had alternative features that YouTube could probably use, and some of them were pretty damn good — check them out here.