- It was sold back in 2022 to Branch Metrics
https://www.androidcentral.com/apps-software/branch-strikes-...
August 2024 everyone working on it was laid off except the original dev
https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/9/24217077/nova-launcher-lay...
September 2025 the original dev left after being told to stop work on open sourcing it
https://www.theverge.com/news/773937/nova-launcher-founder-l...
by tecleandor
4 subcomments
- "We are a Swedish company building products that help people get online, used by millions of people worldwide."
So I look for them. They have a "Free wifi connection" / "Wifi passwords map" app. It surprises me because it has a good score on Google Play but then I begin to check the reviews, and a bunch of them go like: "Five stars because if you do a good review you can use it for free".
I install it and on starting it and in the first minute: Asks you to create an account but you can't click on the terms of service or privacy policy, the links don't work. I skip it. It tries to change your default launcher. It tries to change your default browser. It asks you to share your home wifi password with them. Pops up adds everywhere. Tries to get a good review from you.
No thanks, not even near.
by microflash
5 subcomments
- What an undeserving fate. A beloved app now being passed from vulture to vulture who rip off every possible morsel they can.
When Branch bought Nova, I moved on to use Lawnchair [1], which is open source. Although it has been in beta like forever, with occasional glitches, it works well enough and has enough features to satisfy my customization cravings.
[1]: https://github.com/LawnchairLauncher/lawnchair
- Haven't heard of Nova in a very long time, this was one of the original customizable launchers for Android wasn't it? If it's gone this long without being open-sourced, it might be time to let go. Been using https://kisslauncher.com/ for many years and have no complaints.
by post_break
1 subcomments
- When a company says that they're here to stay after an acquisition that usually means the opposite.
- Nova has been my favorite launcher for years, but after this, I may have to look elsewhere. Even as a paid user, I don't have much confidence that I'm not being sold off for ad exploitation.
by mastermedo
1 subcomments
- What a throwback. Nova launcher sounded familiar, but I wasn't sure where to place it in my head. When I saw the logo I was immediately transported to memories of using lineage OS and bricking my new Samsung Note 4. I was trying to customize every button combination to do something smart back then. The good old days when I had the time to fix the phone after every update. I've since moved to the apple ecosystem... Set and forget.
by aspbee555
1 subcomments
- I was having issues recently with my Pixel phone hanging/freezing/going stupid, it was Nova. I changed to Lawnchair yesterday after learning this and works much better and my battery is no longer draining for no apparent reason
by vgivanovic
0 subcomment
- I've used Nova Launcher for years (don't know if I'm paid), but I'll be happy to pay for an ad free version.
I know there is a long history of companies buying another company for a product and then killing it after a period of time. I'm willing to give Instabridge the benefit of doubt... for a while. If they do decide that Nova Launcher is not a fit, I hope they open source it so that current users are not left on the lurch.
- I recently switched to a OnePlus 15 and Nova Launcher had a really annoying 0.5-1 second delay every time you went back home.
I've been a paid Nova user and used it on every android device for the past 10 years or so.
I ended up migrating to the stock OnePlus launcher and it's actually surprisingly good, other than you have to disable the stupid google recommended page every time you reboot the phone, so I'm still open to alternatives.
by BatteryMountain
1 subcomments
- I got fed up with Nova and all the others to the point that I've built my own launcher in two evenings. Its just a black screen (no wallpaper or widgets) with a list of alphabetical scrollable apps (almost like how Windows Phone / Lumia looked), no icons/colours. Just black with white text & accents. You can tag an app as a favourite and it will show at the top. Thats it. No internet connection, no real customizations. It works amazingly well and fast and looks awesome on OLED. Once you are used to it, everything else (incl iOS) looks like a circus.
If you are an app developer, remember to add a black/oled theme to your apps. A good chunk of my apps have them and they fit so well with my launcher.
- Thanks for the lawnchair recommendations, y'all. It's been real, Nova Launcher. Sleep now my sweet prince.
by herrherrmann
7 subcomments
- Ugh, quite annoying. My next phone might be an Android (instead of the current iPhone), and I was looking forward to returning to Nova Launcher, after having used it many years ago as my favorite launcher. This feels like a big no-go now.
What are other good customizable launchers on Android nowadays?
- I use Niagara Launcher because of the simplicity and quick access to every app. I highly recommend to everyone who wants a fast launcher and clean look.
by mancerayder
1 subcomments
- I use Nova for to remove the Google search bar on the Pixel desktop. And as a secondary benefit, Nova remembers app locations when I change phones.
What should I do that's hassle-free? Is there an open source equivalent that's likely to stay alive in a year or three?
- On any Android phone I immediately install Niagara. Best launcher by far. Makes everything so efficient and beautiful.
- > Open sourcing a product responsibly involves licensing, security, build tooling, contribution workflow, and trademark stewardship.
You can scratch at the very least contribution workflow from that list; anyhow, the original author had already spent months preparing the open source release, ironing out legal and dependency issues, so everything should already be there or pretty close, at least on the technical side of things (arguably one of the biggest sides)
- Sad news. I've been using Nova for years now, across multiple devices.
Thankfully my build is super minimalistic and another launcher was able to replicate it pretty quickly. Black wallpaper, white icon pack, list app drawer with a few folders, 4 scrollable home screens with large white icons for the most frequent apps (browser, Gemini, personal lifestyle logging app, Signal conversation with wife).
The idea that there might be ads (albeit on the free tier) is ridiculous, but then again that is the final frontier for adtech companies. I've often thought the Google stock launcher will likely soon have ads, just like Microsoft started trying to slip them in with Windows 10.
- I switched to Smart Launcher Pro, and it seems to scratch the same itch. It was more expensive, though.
Nova carried me for almost a decade, and I'll miss it.
by llmthrow0827
2 subcomments
- Can someone explain why launchers matter so much to them? All the apps I use are on a single page and it's just one button press; what more would I need than that?
- I tried a few alternatives last night but ended up going with Lawnchair. I miss some of the deeper customisation of Nova, but its otherwise nice and stable and, most importantly, not spyware.
I'm not sure if this would actually affect me in the short term as a Nova Prime user (unsure if the extra trackers were added there too), but in the long term it certainly would
by paprikanotfound
0 subcomment
- A few years I started working on a launcher, built from scratch with jetpack compose. It has all the basic functionality, and some very nice details like multi touch support, similar to iOS. Though I never released it since I got burnt out and I stopped using Android. This is making me want to go back to it and finish it.
- After many years of Nova, switched to Olauncher. I'm a happy person.
by andrewaylett
0 subcomment
- Shout out for Smart Launcher, which I'm very much enjoying: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ginlemon.flowe...
- Haven't used Nova for a while and at first was curious if this was good for bringing it back from unmaintenance. The heavy focus on sustainability and marketing in this blog makes it seem unlikely though.
Switched to Pear when Nova got unstable after a Pixel upgrade and I noticed it hadn't been updated in years. Been working well though will keep any eye on any other recommendations that show up in this thread.
- I see Nova has been very popular. Why did the original developer sell it? There must be some business model for these sorts of popular apps that don't involve selling it? Crowdfunding?
- Personally, I stopped using Nova launcher years ago.
Now I use Kvaesitso, which is search-focused exactly how I used to configure Nova.
https://kvaesitso.mm20.de/
- I used Nova paid for years, but moved back to the stock Samsung launcher when Nova started having issues with widgets not refreshing (Outlook calendar view was the worst, it would work for a day or two and then just get stuck). I guess I should try something else now.
- I am a paying Nova Prime user and I really love that I can press on an app to open it. OR swipe up on a app to open a directory where I put similar apps
by RandyOrion
0 subcomment
- Using Lawnchair for more than a year now. No major issues on my device with Android 13 and Lineage OS 22.2. Will not look at other alternatives for a long time.
by jerrygoyal
0 subcomment
- I've been a nova user for the last 7 years or so.
- I was thinking what else deteriorated from best to worst.. Poweramp.
- Nova Launcher Prime was good, but nkw I use Pie launcher which is OSS and minimal. Although it has very less features when compared.
- Are launchers needed at all? I find the default GrapheneOS interface to be serviceable and I did not know what a "launcher" was until fairly recently.
by vladstudio
0 subcomment
- Uninstalled. Thanks HN
- > We will keep data collection minimal and purpose driven, and we will be clear about what is collected and why. We do not sell personal data.
I don't believe this at all. If they aren't lying, then why did they add new trackers?
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46686655
by londons_explore
0 subcomment
- Nova launcher used to have loads of great features, but it seems now the best of those features have made it to the stock Google/Samsung launchers
- Immediate uninstall.
- Hope the dev will opensource it and do smth like what Maps.me did wirh Organic maps
- yeah nah..
Will Nova become open source?
We know this matters to many of you. It is something we are actively evaluating. Open sourcing a product responsibly involves licensing, security, build tooling, contribution workflow, and trademark stewardship. We do not have a decision to share yet, but we will be transparent once we do.
- Time to say goodbye, I guess. It's been a while and things kept going south. Hello Lawnchair, my old friend.
by NamlchakKhandro
0 subcomment
- Niagra Launcher is where it's at for stable out of your way intuitive.
by throwa356262
6 subcomments
- It's 2026, why are people still using custom launchers?
Serious question from a former Nova Prime user.
by naikrovek
1 subcomments
- the url "nova-is-here-to-stay" says to me that Nova will be discontinued in about 90 seconds.
- > Are you going to add ads?
> Nova needs a sustainable business model to support ongoing development and maintenance. We are exploring different options, including paid tiers and other approaches. As many of you have already anticipated, we are also evaluating ad based options for the free version.
> If ads are introduced, Nova Prime will remain ad free. Our guiding principles are clear: keep the experience clean and fast, avoid disruptive formats, and provide a straightforward way to keep the experience ad free.
Seems pretty clear.
- > "building products that help people get online"
To me looks sounds like the motto of a company made to defraud people of their money.
Otherwise, very sad the demise and enshittification of this Launcher that was really one of the very good one around the good old time of the nexus 5.
- > What this means right now
> Nova is not shutting down. Our immediate focus is simple: [...]
So it will be shutting down or gutted into a privacy nightmare. That's all I needed to see.
by _DeadFred_
0 subcomment
- I'm really behind on this stuff but what does this mean for Sesame. It's all just dead now, right?
by whalesalad
3 subcomments
- I take it the stock android launcher these days is not good?
by ChrisArchitect
0 subcomment
- the timing of this
Related:
Nova Launcher added Facebook and Google Ads tracking
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46686655
(lots of good discussion about alternatives in this thread by the way)
by nixosbestos
1 subcomments
- It blows my mind how many stories hit the front page, every day, that bottom out on whining about proprietary software. I've literally been talking about the Win10/11 whining for 3+ years, and yet EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK THERE ARE MORE.
Lawnchair is *EXCELLENT*. I say that as a former Nova Launcher user. And Lawnchair is fully OSS and actively developed.
I just cannot fathom people who enjoy this non-stop BS rollercoaster and are happy to be passed from OG dev, to scummy publisher, to ??? publisher. And all just be happy about that instead of ... why am I even typing this shit. The people that care, care and use OSS or migrate when the writing is on the wall. The people that allow themselves to get jerked around and just take it are going to keep just taking it. And whining about it, while changing none of their behavior.
(Totally not related; see HN and the constant cycle of people shitting on decentralization and then being pikachu-shocked when proprietary centralized services do what they always do).
(Though, it's nice to finally, finally see a predominance of anecdotes of Linux experiences that aren't based on 3 year old distro ISOs. EDIT: 3 is generous, I saw people talking about a 20.04 LTS spin less than a year ago and acting like that was indicative of Linux on Desktop).
To be fair, I'm probably just way off base here. A company whose focus is absolutely not an Android Launcher surely won't enshittify or sell it in due course. Surely. Surely, surely, surely. Right? Like last time?
- TLDR; Nova will add ads, will not go open source and might shutdown.
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