It’s fair to say that Nova Launcher was once the pinnacle of the Android launcher space. While many of its loyal fans still believe it is, there’s no doubt it has experienced some ups and downs in recent years.
You likely know the Nova Launcher story by now. The app was sold in 2022, lay dormant for years afterward, and was recently purchased, with development ramping up once more. The launcher’s new custodians have focused on stability over new features, but some worrying additions have alienated me. From an injection of trackers to the proliferation of ads, to plans for an agentic AI assistant, and an admission in the privacy policy that the launcher may sample user information — I just don’t feel comfortable using Nova anymore. But, a slew of users still rely on this app as an important cog in their carefully synchronized workflows — yanking it simply isn’t an option.
