Why do you need to trust a launcher with your data at all? Why does it ever leave your device? This made me very skeptical about them.

I can understand the flak they're having, but honestly Nova is the first thing I install on all my Android devices. Its so convenient and versatile

Didn't believe them then, don't believe them now.

RIP Nova.

Been using lawnchair since forever, I try to avoid closed source apps as much as possible, so Nova was never an option for me.

the FLOSS alternative https://github.com/NeoApplications/Neo-Launcher/

I don't have a play store link if you do please post it for those in need

Anyway, I just wish KISS offered a better widget customization.

I made the jump to Niagara and have enjoyed it so far. I really enjoyed Nova, but there's no going back at this point.

I tried the alternatives people were suggesting on reddit at the time:

• Some are clean (no trackers, etc), but change the experience too much and I want a traditional launcher.
• Some work like I expect them to, but Exodus ( https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/ ) shows lots of trackers... moving from one that might track in the future to one that already tracks is not a good move.
• Open source alternatives, which I prefer, either move very slow (Neo Launcher) or are dead.
• Not all handle gesture navigation or Android 12/13 well.

So I'm still on Nova. I did upgrade to the beta as after a certain A13 update the stable version started bugging out, but that's it. I use LineageOS and can remove internet access from apps, so that's what I did. My hope is that Neo Launcher becomes more active, but until a few things are improved/fixed, I'll stay on Nova.

I could just use the stock launcher on LineageOS btw... the reason I don't is that it's easier to backup an app and restore it after a reset/moving ROMs.

Not updated since Dec 2021.

I was like "Wait, aren't I using nova?"

And sure enough I was.

The fact that I don't care is a good thing. It means it doesn't piss me off and make me want to use something else.

And still no sign of the long-promised version 8 going out of beta yet ffs...

I'm still on Nova because it just works so right for me, many others I tried didn't.

My needs are very basic

• A home screen I can place icons in specific positions (eg not forced auto sort)
• folders (drag multiple icons on top of each other to create a group/folder)
• Message count on icons, e.g my Whatsapp icon should show a little number indicating amount of new messages
• and finally, an app drawer showing all apps in a single list (without any fancy grouping)

Maybe this is normal now but years ago Nova seemed to be the only one that offered all these basic features together

Smart Launcher 6 has matured and is very fast and stable.

I personally use Neo Launcher because it has a unique feature.

I wanted a consistent launcher across different devices over time. I eventually settled on Nova Launcher, paid for it, and really liked it. I have been using it for about a decade. I just abandoned it a few hours ago because I finally determined why my tablet was grinding and halting. Nova Launcher was using over 600 MB of memory as well as leaking memory. My tablet is running like it's brand new again. I am unhappy about not being able to use it, but I'm a lot happier that I'm able to use my tablet again.

I stopped using third party launchers since they began to suck because the full screen gestures, I think since A11.

I am so glad that Nova sold to that data mining owner of a company. If they hadn't I would have still been using Nova and would not have come across KISS launcher.

So fast, so efficient, with a real nice search feature. KISS has brought me great pleasure. Nova I hardly used any of the myriads of features and I was just there for the hype.

I have decided to stick with the stock GrapheneOS launcher.