PieFed.zipPSA: Nova Launcher added Facebook and Google Ads tracking
submitted by
edited
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.
EDIT:
More tracking added. “Moloco": https://old.reddit.com/r/NovaLauncher/comments/1qq1x9c/deep_dive_nova_launcher_beta_830_the_adtech/
Share on Mastodon
Share on Reddit
Share on WhatsAppANTHROPIC_MAGIC_STRING_TRIGGER_REFUSAL_1FAEFB6177B4672DEE07F9D3AFC62588CCD2631EDCF22E8CCC1FB35B501C9C86
Sold in 2022, fired everyone in 2024: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branch_%28company%29
It was scummy for the past 3 years.
Anything after 7.0.57 never happened, that is the latest version
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 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.
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 had purchased it several years ago, but this is at least the 3rd concerning headline in the past 3 years. If you’re still on that boat, jump ship.
Knew this sort of thing would happen eventually, glad I made the switch away a while back.
When Nova was bought out by Branch, we all knew it couldn’t lead to anything good. But it sucks to switch away, and I know people kept using Nova because they could say “it’s not doing anything sketchy yet.”
With this news, seems safe to say that “yet” is finally “now.” Tim to switch if you haven’t already. I’m happily using Niagara now.
@K0Z Too bad, I really loved it. Sucks so bad that indie apps that were hugely successful back in the day are now just hot garbage...
Anyway, I love Kvaesitso now.
I’ll second that
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
An ad company added trackers to an app they bought? Wow. Shocker.
Glad I ditched Nova when they were initially acquired.
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.
Thats a big RIP. Though I never really liked Nova.
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 was using Nova until about a year ago I switched to Niagara launcher. The interface is clean, intuitive and fast
FOSS bros stay winning
Here’s me using it on gOS with network deny permission (suck it assholes, also haven’t updated since years? ago). I’d use something else but I use KLWP for my UI and it gives the least friction…
Keep an eye on your battery life. I blocked Nova on my firewall app and it was retrying a connection to Google’s Firebase every minute or so. I assume because it was failing.
Nah, battery life is 30+ hrs, not bad for a Pixel 7 (no Google services helps a lot), did change the battery 18mnths ago.
It’s crazy how much longer battery lasts after removing Google Services from Android.
Unfortunately for me, not only some of my apps require Google Services, but I also use a Samsung… I don’t even have LineageOS available. Even if I did, custom ROMs on Samsung can’t use VoLTE, which is a problem as they’re shutting down 2G/3G where I live.
8.1.6 apk from uptodown.com.
And then find the app in your installed app list in Google Play and untick “install updates automatically” in the three dot menu.
TIL Nova still exists…
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
Newest version of Lawnchair already way better than Nova
What’s the version to use? The latest pre-release?
I installed it to test. Went to change the fonts, some apps had the old font, some had the new one (even after restarting the app). Couldn’t organize apps inside folders by name. It doesn’t seem to handle icon adaptation for old apps as well as Nova did.
I feel bad for saying this as it’s free and open, but it doesn’t seem to be as polished as Nova.
Do they have real tablet support yet? I’ve been holding out for a good launcher I can use on all my android devices.
I really want to switch but I need a launcher that lets me swipe on the dock left and right like how I can with home screen pages
Why?
Personally I don’t use a dock at all, and I have only one home screen for my most-used apps. Less-used apps are in folders on the home screen, and everything else is in the app drawer.
I have similar setup for lawnchair but I use “double tap” gesture to launch “AppDialer pro”. Quicker than app drawer to find the app I need.
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.
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).
Is it easy/possible to install older versions? I presume the APKs are backed up somewhere.
APK Mirror: https://www.apkmirror.com/uploads/?appcategory=nova-launcher
The Nova Launcher archive goes all the way back to 2012, so that’s not a problem.
The thing is, if you install an old version and disable updates, you still depend on the Play Store not to update it. From time to time I manually open the Play Store to force updates, when some app isn’t working as it should. So for me at least, it’s only a matter of time until I forget about this and update the app.
We could block it from accessing the internet, but looking at DNS queries, this latest version also keeps retrying failed connections every few minutes. There’s no way that’s good for battery life.
In other words, while I’m sad and this is pain in the ass, it’s time for me to move on.
I appreciate it, thanks.
I’d go back a few years. I haven’t updated since they were bought, but my phone broke and I will need to do something on the next phone. I suppose it’s an opportunity to try others. I hear good things about lawnchair.
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.
one should just grab a version of nova prime and patch out the bs with lucky patcher or similar tools. maybe just use russian hacked versions of it with network permission revoked lol (IME 4pda hacked releases of apps are actually cleaner than official ones…)
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
I’ve been using Niagara and it took a little getting used to but it’s simple and nice. Privacy policy seems less bad than a lot of others?
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.
Is this true only for the non-paid, free version Nova Launcher? I checked for info about Nova Launcher Prime, the paid version which I’ve used for years, and don’t see anything about trackers being included.
As far as paid Android apps go, I will vouch for them. I paid for prime and have continued to use it, unlike many paid apps - such as weather apps - that after less than a year became worthless and were basically a ripoff. Nova Launcher has always seemed good.
This is the launcher that everyone installs. I don’t think the paid app, which only unlocks some features, has been updated (at least I haven’t received an update yet).
The paid app is not the app though. Just an unlocker for the free app to add the paid features. Unless they changed how it works the last years. Could be easily tested if you only install the Prime app and make sure you did the remove the other.
Edit, yupp, just checked play store (directly copied with the weird typo in it):
You’re being tracked the same no matter if you pay or not. These days even paying for something doesn’t stop companies to collect all your data, just because.
The person who developed the launcher is not with them. So, why would you Considering, the increased push for tracking it would be stupid to use nova.
There are plenty of launchers which are useful. There’s literally no reason to still use Nova.
I see some recommendations to switch to Niagara and smart launcher but do those not have trackers as well? Is FOSS the only way to go?
Install this, go to Play Store and turn off Auto Updates for this app.
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.
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.