3 Reasons To Stop Using Nova Launcher On Your Android Phone

For years, Nova Launcher was viewed as one of the best third-party Android launchers thanks to the sheer amount of customization it offered users. However, last year many users started to migrate away after the beloved launcher was deemed "dead" by the community.

This followed an announcement by the sole developer at the time, and the original creator, that he was stepping away from Branch, the company that purchased Nova Launcher back in 2022. The launcher was then purchased by another company, Instabridge, which released an update promising to maintain the beloved launcher and find a way forward for it.

It's been a few months since that acquisition, and while Nova Launcher remains available to download on Google Play for free, the launcher's average rating has dropped to 3.1 stars based on over 1.37 million reviews, a far cry from the app's previous highly-rated days. Each day, more and more Nova users appear to be walking away.

Despite its popularity over the years, Nova Launcher remained ad-free, with a premium option available for those who wanted to support the app and unlock deeper customization features. However, with the purchase of the application by Instabridge in January, the company has now released advertisements to the application. These ads have elicited a negative reaction from many fans, with reviews on the Google Play Store complaining about the inclusion of large ads in the app drawer and other areas of the launcher.

Mobile applications are no stranger to advertisements, and both in-app purchases and advertisements have been a successful way for developers to make money off their creations. However, the addition of ads to Nova Launcher has led some on Reddit to even compare the app to spyware due to how intrusive they can be.

Users can still upgrade to the premium version for an ad-free experience. However, reviews suggest that the quality of the app as it is now doesn't feel like something worth supporting monetarily for many. And those reviewers aren't alone. Many users who claim to have used Nova for years are abandoning ship in favor of alternative third-party Android launchers or stock launchers to avoid the extra headache of ads on their home screen and any other ad-tracking features that might be added down the line. Other popular launchers, like Niagara and Smart Launcher, remain ad-free with premium purchases available to unlock other features.

Another common complaint that has started to surface in reviews and reports are those pertaining to bugs in the launcher. One reviewer on the Play Store wrote that they've experienced issues like the screen freezing whenever they launch an app or even bring the phone out of sleep mode. There have also been reports on Reddit of certain versions of the app crashing when enter specific settings menus.

Others have reported issues with icons overlapping when searching in the app drawer as well. While it's possible these bugs have been fixed in recent updates since their arrival, there have still been multiple reviews mentioning the bugs that popped up in the app after Instabridge took over in January.

It is also worth noting that some of these may have been experienced on beta versions of the app. However, members of the community who reviewed the app appear to have had their shaky trust in Instabridge to keep the product they love so much alive and running smoothly diminished already. If stability is important to you, then you may want to stick with your phone's stock launcher. These have improved drastically in recent years, leading some users to shy away from third-party offerings altogether due to a growing sentiment that custom launchers have become unneeded.

Another major concern that has started to impact Nova's reputation is Instabridge's plans to incorporate a new AI assistant, which would gather data from the user's device and apps and then use it to act as their assistant in a way that is similar to what Gemini and Bixby already do.

The reason that the AI needs access to your private data is to accurately provide suggestions for reminders, calendar events, and more. However, this might not be data that users are willing to give up, as reports indicate it would also include private message data and call log information. The company remains adamant that the AI is something you have to turn on, but the fact it even exists has upset some users because of the implications that it brings to the table.

There has also been discovery of code in recent versions related to a service called "Nova Mobile," which some speculate could be a way for Instabridge to try to sell users on its other services, like eSIM and internet features. Unfortunately, for many users, Nova Launcher appears to have fallen far from being the powerhouse of Android launchers that it used to be. And while it isn't technically discontinued anymore, the older versions of Nova Launcher may remain some of the most missed Android apps that have been discontinued.