The latest update for the popular Nova Launcher app includes Facebook Ads and Google AdMob.
Compare 8.2.4: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/698198/
With 8.1.6: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/673643/
From 2 trackers to 6 trackers. From 30 permissions to 36. And two of the “trackers” are for ad stuff, like Facebook Ads.
I believe the owner also changed. It’s no longer Branch, but something called Instabridge Sweden.
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Thanks for the heads up! End of an era. I’ve been dabbling in Lawnchair (the new update is an improvement but some bugs remain) and Niagara (great but lacks support for a widget page).
Cheers OP for the heads up, sooooo glad I started blocking those domains a long while ago with OpenWRT > Tailscale exit node at home.
Frustrating sometimes since peeps link many charities and shit via FB, but easily circumvented via archive sites tor i2p etc.
If you’re using Nova, be aware that it keeps retrying some failed connections, so while this might improve privacy, it may also increase your battery drain.
I was going to keep using it for now with an Android firewall, but decided to uninstall it to force me to find a replacement.
Aye, I’m all good and stopped using Nova after many years when the Branch crap came out.
It’s the FB domain, and their many other bought out ones (WhatsApp nty) that are blocked at a network level here. No ghost accounts for me :p
I just changed launchers on my Pixel 6 because I’m slowly degoggling and the google search bar on the default launcher was the last place that had Google as a default for search. I was thinking of going back to using Nova launcher since I had purchased it way back, but decided to give Lawnchair a try. Very happy with the change so far.
I’ve tried Lawnchair. It’s better than it used to be last time I tested it. With this said, I don’t seem to be able to order folders by name, changed fonts (something more compressed) and half of the icons had the old font, and others had the new one (even after restarting the app)…
I think I could make it work, but like all open source launchers I try, there’s always something half-backed or not polished enough.
were you trying a stable, beta or nightly build? I use the nightly and havent necessarily noticed anything looking old.
I used “Lawnchair 15 Beta 2”, which was the latest available on their site and Github 4 days ago.
Not sure if you care to try but here’s the Nightly link. Its updated daily
https://github.com/LawnchairLauncher/lawnchair/releases/tag/nightly
I didn’t know about Lawnchair, I’ve now switched over to it as well. Thanks for sharing your recommendation!
I finally switched from Nova to Lawnchair just a couple of months ago and I am also very happy with the result! I spent ~20 minutes customizing it to my liking and it has been working beautifully ever since. Can’t believe I held out for so long!
Kvaesitso is my favorite so far after using KISS for years. Simple, but very polished! I like the clean home screen with favorite bar and searching with a few taps, or scrolling the full app page.
Between Lawnchair Nightly and Octopi, I hardly miss Nova these days. Lawnchair is god-tier imo.
I switched to and paid for Action Launcher, which is not FOSS but has tons more features than Lawnchair.
I probably won’t switch to something FOSS until I can use flexible folders. With Action I have everything I actually use on one screen, with the most obvious app in each category as the tap action on the folder. Eg I tap on the audio folder to open podcast addict but I swipe on it to open a music app instead
Glad I bailed, sad to see this from a launcher I used for years, but big Ole YIKES to everything since they were bought out.
Using AIO launcher now. Don’t care for the chat gpt feature it’s pushing. But when you ignore that it’s just a nice slimmed down minimal utilitarian UI.
No Facebook Ads or Google Ads on that launcher, but there’s the same Branch analytics stuff that made people leave when Nova was sold for the first time:
https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/com.qqlabs.minimalistlauncher/latest/
… Fuck.
Ty
btw, the launcher you linked to is called “minimalist phone”, that’s what the scan is about.
if you meant to link this “AIO Launcher”, then it still collects telemetry and crash reports, but I guess most launchers on the play store do this: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/ru.execbit.aiolauncher/latest/
it seems that the only way to use a “clean” launcher is to use an open source alternative.
I’ve been using Nova for, gods, something like five years now or more.
What are some good ones these days? When I started using Nova, it was very highly recommended.
I use Niagara launcher now and while it takes some getting used to and doesn’t have all the customization of Nova but I think I prefer how it streamlines phone interaction a lot of the time. At least for me.
Niagara and KISS are IMO the best launchers out. Niagara is more polished, KISS is open source, requires few permissions, and has an almost pathological dedication to supporting low power hardware
I love KISS.
It’s my favorite. Interacting with it is just a thought and then you’re in your app. There’s no browsing trying to remember where in the list the app is, forgetting on the way which app you were looking for, opening one of the 3 apps you’re addicted to. It’s great
Yep, exactly.
An ad company added trackers to an app they bought? Wow. Shocker.
Glad I ditched Nova when they were initially acquired.
Thats a big RIP. Though I never really liked Nova.
Someone else just mentioned Octopi in another thread. I don’t know much about it but downloaded it a few minutes ago and seems like a viable alternative to Nova.
Man, I’d love to adapt to some of these launchers, but day to day, having a few icons and folders in easy to reach places works better for me than having to type, scroll, use gestures, etc. I always go back to traditional launchers.
@K0Z you can use tags for apps and pin those tags at the top
I’ll second that
I need a launcher that lets me make the icons bigger and in a 3x3 grid. Galaxy S10. What should I use instead?
Lawnchair does that and is FOSS
Thanks, I’ve even heard of that one.
I’ve been using Nova since Android 4.x and I am really did not want to switch, but it sounds like I have no other option now.
It’s going to be a pain; multiple family members use Nova on their smartphones/tablets and they are used to the interface.
Can Lawnchair be customized to replicate Nova?
I’ve been using Nova launcher for just as long, and finally got off of it in November. First it was no updates, then whispers of ad injections, and now the ads are actually here.
With that said, I tried Lawnchair, and found it to be clunky, unintuitive, and either lacking the features that I wanted or I couldn’t find them.
I ended up going with Smart Launcher, which has been a fantastic replacement. It’s got everything that Nova Launcher has and more, and it’s very easy to use.
Smart Launcher is great so far. Thanks for the recommendation.
Thanks for the suggestion, I am so not looking forward to moving the family off Nova (lots of tech support), but it must be done.
I too switched to Lawnchair from Nova and am pretty happy with it. Has a similar experience.
Switched a few months ago. I’m really happy with Niagara. Took a few days to get used to it but now it’s so much nicer than the standard launcher.
TIL Nova still exists…
This is the free version? Last I read the paid version is ad/tracking free.
The code is on the launcher itself. Prime is a separated app that is supposed to unlock paid features and disable the ads. I’ve seen some comments on Reddit of people claiming to have prime and seeing ads, so I don’t know what’s going on.
It’s pretty common to have a free version with ads and a paid version/unlocked version. Are people just mad that the free version has more tracking/ad sources now?
I don’t know what people are mad at. I assume that the users with Prime still seeing ads aren’t happy, but I have no idea.
Me personally, I don’t like to have my launcher selling data to Meta/Facebook. I also can see the change in strategy, from where a paid app supported development, to one where tracking and ads is at the centre of the monetization of the app. That’s something I try to avoid these days. I prefer to pay or use open-source and donate, and have a clean app.
