YouTube Vanced was a popular modified version of the YouTube app that gave us access to features that the free version of the YouTube app wouldn’t (not to mention some fun extras, like themes and swipe controls). Mainly though, it was popular because it had an ad-blocker, offline download, picture-in-picture and background playback. – You usually have to pay $14 per month to get things done. It was quite popular in the Android community, but alas, it is no more.
But since Google asked Vanced to shut down its business, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy ad-free YouTube with background playback. There are lots of other options.
(Note: If you installed Vanced now, it will continue to work for the foreseeable future.)
First, a case for YouTube Premium
We’ll get to the “real” wand options below, but before that, let’s make the case for YouTube Premium. Yes, it costs $14.99/month, but it removes ads All your equipment. Your TV, PC, Android Smartphone, Everywhere. And it gives you access to features like background playback and picture-in-picture.
If you can afford the premium, you are supporting content creators. And, if you pay for the $22.99/month family plan, you can split the bill with up to five other users.
Best Alternatives to YouTube Vanced
But if you’re unable (or unwilling) to pay YouTube Premium, you can still use modified YouTube apps and third-party clients that provide an experience similar to YouTube Vanced.
Here are some alternatives to Vanced:
Vanced Official (@YTVanced) 13 March 2022
newpipe
NewPipe, like Vanced, is not a modified version of the YouTube app. It is a separate, free and open-source player for YouTube. It’s lightweight, but it offers the features you care about most: no ads, background playback, and picture-in-picture. NewPipe is the app I’ve personally used over the years.
Like Vanced, NewPipe is not available on the Play Store. But you can download the APK installer directly from their website, or you can find the app on the F-Droid App Store (an alternative to the Google Play Store, which hosts free and open source apps).
skytube
This is another free and open-source third party YouTube app just like NewPipe. Skytube also offers the basic features you could want, including no ads, and background payments.
The only real downside is that it’s a viewing-only app. You can’t sign in to your YouTube account, so there’s no sync feature. The app has its own facility for channel subscription and bookmarking.
uBlock Origin Add-on for Firefox
One obvious reason to use Firefox over Google Chrome on Android is because of its huge gallery of free add-ons. And they will really come in handy here. If you install the uBlock Origin add-on, you’ll get an ad-free YouTube experience in the browser. go for menu , Add on > enable more uBlock Origin,
Down side? No facility like offline download.
Brave Browser
Vends itself recommends that you use the Brave browser to watch ad-free YouTube videos on Android. The app comes with an ad-blocking feature by default, and as long as you have enabled the Shields Up feature for the YouTube site, you should be good to go.
Use an ad-blocking VPN
Alternatively, you can use an ad-free VPN on your Android smartphone. This will prevent ads from loading on all your devices, and it will also protect you from online tracking. Vanced suggests you try Adguard, but you can use any ad-blocking VPN for this purpose.
