• Stovetop@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Just be careful, Nova Launcher is owned by a user telemetry collection company now and the majority of the original dev team was kicked from the project not too long ago.

      That was enough reason for me to lose trust in them and switch to something else. If the app hasn’t gotten shady yet, I feel it is only a matter of time.

      • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
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        2 days ago

        I am aware. I haven’t noticed anything yet but I do plan on looking into an alternative next time I have to buy a new phone. My note 20 ultra is 5 years old at this point, but I don’t have a reason to upgrade yet. I like my pen and SD card.

        • skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de
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          2 days ago

          Install something like Rethink DNS or DDG App Tracking Protection to see what telemetry the app is sending without your knowledge.

        • Ilandar@lemm.ee
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          2 days ago

          I use Kvaesitso, it is one of the better open source launchers with a lot of customisability and a very clean design.

        • Stovetop@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          I’m using Niagara personally, but I know it’s a radically different experience and probably not something I’d recommend to anyone looking for something comparable to Nova. Niagara is also not FOSS if that is a priority.

          I know there are some FOSS launchers out there with similar features to Nova that folks on Lemmy have recommended in the past, but I don’t know them offhand and haven’t used them myself enough to be a judge of quality.

          It’s probably not even bad sticking with Nova, because at least to my knowledge they haven’t gone sketchy yet, but it’s something to keep an eye on. Analytics companies typically aren’t very trustworthy, especially when it comes to user privacy.