

Vanced itself doesn't modify the downloader YouTube implemented. Thereby, you need to purchase YouTube Premium or use a third-party app to download videos if you're not in one of the supported countries. Google officially allows downloading videos from YouTube for offline viewing in these countries. However, it does come with a lot of features like ad blocking, background playback, and many more that are otherwise not accessible without a YouTube Premium subscription. Vanced, on the other hand, is a highly modded version of the stock YouTube app which doesn't require any kind of subscription. No! YouTube Premium (formerly known as YouTube Red) is a subscription-based service offered by Google that provides ad-free access to content across the service, as well as access to premium YouTube Originals, downloading videos and background playback of videos on mobile devices, and access to the YouTube Music music streaming service.

However, the non-root variant is simply easier to live with, so our recommendation is to stick with the non-root variant unless you really need to replace the stock YouTube app on your phone. Moreover, you have to manually set Vanced as the default app for opening YouTube links. Note that you need to install an additional companion app (MicroG) to be able to log in with your YouTube/Google account. Since the package name of the non-root variant is different from the stock YouTube app, they can co-exist. It can be installed on a rooted device as well.

Non-root variant: However, if you have a device that is difficult to root, or you don't want to root your daily driver in the first place, you should opt for the non-root variant. As a result, you can directly open YouTube links or call them using Google assistant through the modded app.

Root variant: The root variant of Vanced seamlessly replaces the official YouTube app. In terms of user experience, there is virtually no difference between the root and the non-root builds. Which Vanced variant should I choose: Root or Non-root? If you don’t find the answer to your question here, feel free to leave it in the comments section below and if it’s relevant, we’ll answer it and add it to this section. Listed below are several frequently asked questions about Vanced - right from the difference between the non-root and the root variants to downloading videos. If you had planned on ditching the stock YouTube app in favor of Vanced, you might have some doubts about certain aspects of this mod that you want to be clarified. YouTube Vanced: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
