If you don’t know what YouTube Vanced was, it was a non-official YouTube app. It allowed you to watch videos from the video-sharing platform. It offered some features that the official YouTube app didn’t. Recently, it was able to add back the dislike counter, and that resonated with the fan base.

Google Play Protect labels YouTube Vanced Manager as harmful

Now, YouTube Vanced is gone. YouTube, understandably, took action to end YouTube Vanced. It took legal action and had the app removed. While the app itself doesn’t exist, people could still use the YouTube Vanced Manager app. This was the actual app that you’d use to download YouTube Vanced, as it couldn’t live on the Google Play Store. Now, Google is taking extra action to get rid of that app, even though it doesn’t really serve much of a purpose. People who have the app will open it up to find a notification from Google Play Protect. It marks the YouTube Vanced Manager as harmful to the system and it prompts the user to uninstall the app It says that the app puts the device at risk, which is enough to spook most people into hitting the uninstall button. Without really giving a solid reason, it gives off the impression that it’s a virus or could lead to a virus infection.

Why was YouTube Vanced discontinued?

The internet is no stranger to YouTube alternatives. If you used a Windows phone back in the day, you’re probably getting flashbacks of having to download off-brand YouTube apps just to watch content. While this is something that flies under YouTube’s radar, YouTube Vanced took some risky steps. YouTube Vanced offered some neat features that YouTube didn’t have. It also offered some features that only YouTube Premium members could access. It offered those services for free, which didn’t sit well with YouTube.