What's ReVanced Manager For Android & Is It Safe To Use?
One of the nicer things about using the Android operating system over iOS is that it offers a lot more third-party customization options. There are a lot of useful new features in the official Android OS. Many of these official options allow you to optimize your device for extended life and performance, but there are even more options available to those who go outside officially licensed software. This lack of restriction has led to a more diverse range of apps while also opening the door to open-source programming. This means that applications for Android can be developed by large companies and home coders alike. This allows Android users access to a wide variety of fringe software capabilities, but it's also reasonable that some might be concerned about downloading this software to a device that carries so much of your personal information.
ReVanced Manager is a popular new Android application that allows users to modify existing applications. This is a sideloaded APK file that is not available in the Google Play store. As such, it isn't verified by Google and users are assuming some level of risk by downloading it. You might want to learn more about what ReVanced Manager is and whether or not it's safe to use before you take on that risk.
What is ReVanced Manager?
For those who are unclear on what ReVanced Manager actually does, this tool app allows Android users to add software patches that customize several popular apps beyond the options that are made available by the official operating system and app settings. Its primary utility is as an ad blocker. "We aim to provide ad-free patches to as many applications as possible," the ReVanced website states. "We want users to have an annoying-free experience." Two of its most popular applications are Revanced YouTube and RYT Music. These are modified apps that offer add blocking, and background playback capabilities while maintaining the original capabilities of the original applications that they're based on.
It's fairly easy to use too. According to the ReVanced website, once you have it downloaded, "All you need to do is select available patches for your desired app and proceed. It supports non-rooted and rooted devices officially." This means that you will be able to take advantage of the patch modifications that have been made by other users, but it also means that you'll be able to use the software's interface to make your own modifications, thereby granting you even more control of the apps on your device. It's easy to see why something like this can be tempting at a time when ads seem to be getting longer and more difficult to avoid, but is it safe to download on your phone?
Is ReVanced Manager safe to use?
ReVanced Manager an open-sourced project. This means that its code is open to independent contributors to make their own modifications and to design software using the ReVanced code as they see fit. These contributors can make their own projects, but they also adjust the code to make sure that ReVanced patches are stable and up to date with all of the latest Android applications. This, in conjunction with its sideloaded unofficial sourcing, means that it doesn't have the same protections that you would expect from official apps found in the Google Play store.
That said, several users have confirmed that they have used ReVance Manager and haven't encountered any problems. There is a Reddit thread where one user asked if ReVanced is safe, and while some argued that the only way to be 100% certain is to actually sit down and read all of the code line-by-line, a vast majority of the response was an enthusiastic endorsement of the service's safety. The main piece of advice that most of them had to share was to make sure that you're downloading the application from the official site and following the guidelines for proper installation. There are some reports of sites that might have fake versions of the application which may contain malware.
So while it seems that ReVanced is currently considered safe, there are no guarantees. Put simply and frankly, download it at your own risk.