How I stopped Nova Launcher from tracking me without sacrificing my setup

It’s fair to say that Nova Launcher was once the pinnacle of the Android launcher sphere. Although many of its loyal fans still believe in it, there is no doubt that it has experienced some ups and downs in recent years.

You probably know the story of Nova Launcher by now. The app was sold in 2022, lay dormant for several years after that, and was recently purchased, accelerating development once again. New patrons of the launcher have focused more on stability than new features, but some worrying additions have left me alienated. From the injection of trackers, to the proliferation of ads, the plans for an agentic AI assistant, and the admission in the privacy policy that the launcher can sample user information – I no longer feel comfortable using Nova. But, many users still rely on this app as a vital cog in their carefully synchronized workflows – giving it up is not an option.

So what can you do? Well, if you don’t want to abandon your carefully crafted Nova layout and want to regain some degree of control over your user data, there are alternatives. Here’s how I made it harder for Nova Launcher and other apps on my phone to track me.

As I mentioned in the introduction, the latest versions of Nova Launcher now have several additional trackers compared to previous iterations. The two libraries that were originally part of the launcher in the 2023 versions have been expanded to eight in recent builds.

While trackers aren’t inherently problematic (actually useful for developers looking for some bugs or ways to improve the user experience), I wouldn’t want apps on my device to track my activity if I could help it. Yes, many apps do the same, and some are far more prominent than Nova, but the launcher is the core of my phone.

The only way to make sure the launcher can’t use these trackers is to block them, and there are several ways you can do this.

My preference is NextDNS. I detail its setup and capabilities in a separate, more in-depth hands-on, but in short, NextDNS blocks requests from trackers and advertising domains. I can control which domains are blocked by using a blocklist or manually adding trackers.

trackercontrol Another useful app that does exactly what it says on the tin. It runs as a private VPN on the device and filters tracker requests made by apps. Where it is better than NextDNS is in its ability to show which apps are making these requests, and how often.

Finally, a dedicated ad-blocking tool like Blockada Another good option. It performs the same content-filtering service as NextDNS, but it runs as an app on the device. This is a great solution if you want a manageable solution that can be disabled quickly.

Permissions are the hall pass for Android apps, allowing them to access various features and information streams that they may need to function adequately. Regularly reviewing all the apps on your phone should be part of your Android privacy and security checklist. Depending on your setup, you may need to grant some permissions to Nova Launcher. However, there are a handful of people I refuse to accept.

Nearby Tools, Places, and Calendar are three in particular, and don’t really serve any purpose in my setup. Your mileage may vary, so it’s important to review these requests regularly and prevent Nova – and any other Android app, from gaining access to anything it deems unnecessary.

It’s also a good idea to review Nova Launcher’s internal settings. I always bring up the issue of disabling Error & Usage ReportingWhich is enabled by default. And with Nova AI starting, I uncheck it Open Nova AI with Enter key Option. It’s worth noting that Nova AI is completely opt-in, so there are no real concerns about its redundancy.

If you prefer more decisive measures than filtering traffic or blocking trackers, you can block Nova Launcher from accessing the Internet altogether.

There are several ways to do this, but my favorite is to use an open source firewall app shizuwall. This lets me block any app on my phone from accessing the Internet, and it works without taking up Android’s VPN slot.

However, ShizuWall is not completely install-and-go. It requires a mild learning curve. First, you’ll need to install Shizuku – an open source tool that gives apps access to Android’s more privileged capabilities. It will require activation via ADB. Once it’s up and running, you’ll grant ShizuoWall access to it, add Nova Launcher and any other apps you want to disable Internet access to, and launch the app. There is one small problem: you have to restart Shizuku every time you turn on the phone, which is a minor inconvenience and one that’s very easy to forget.

Notably, if it’s too much work, TrackerControl also has a switch to disconnect an app from the Internet.

Additionally, disconnecting Nova Launcher from the Internet would render many features useless, including the launcher’s built-in Google search capabilities, any cards that require server data, and the in-app update feature. If you consider any of these to be necessary you may want to reconsider this measure.

If none of the above solutions calm your feelings of discord and doubt, consider rolling back to an older version of Nova Launcher. My suggestions include:

• version 7.057Which is the final Teslacoil version.
• version 8.1.6Which is the last branch version with minimum trackers.

Importantly, if you built your Nova Launcher setup with any tools introduced after these versions, running an older version of the app will break your build. I would suggest backing up your settings and making a note of your current Nova version before making the leap.

Additionally, if you revert to an older version of the app, be sure to disable automatic updates in the Play Store to prevent Nova from updating to its latest version.

While Nova Launcher is the subject of this guide, the principles it explains should apply to a wide range of Android apps we use and install every day. And yes, if personal data privacy is important to you then you should check every single app on your device. If not? Keep going. However, there is one thing I don’t like about the launcher – the backbone of my phone – having trackers follow me around my device. I can forgive the advertising and subscription models, both of which are necessary sources of income, but I have to draw the line somewhere. It doesn’t matter what the app samples or how it uses my data; The fact is that it does it anyway.

Although Nova has lost my full-time usership, it is clear that Android Authority Readers still hold the app in high regard. Therefore, this guide is ultimately meant to support these users; Users who don’t want to give up what they’ve built over decades but want to regain some control.

As a Nova Launcher fan, you should definitely support the developers. In fact, I hope they eventually remove trackers from the paid versions of Nova Launcher. This would certainly be a big and sweeping step for me to reconsider my position on the launcher. However, supporting the app you love and protecting your usage data shouldn’t be a one or two decision.