The latest update for the popular Nova Launcher app includes Facebook Ads and Google AdMob.
Compare 8.2.4: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/698198/
With 8.1.6: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/673643/
From 2 trackers to 6 trackers. From 30 permissions to 36. And two of the “trackers” are for ad stuff, like Facebook Ads.
I believe the owner also changed. It’s no longer Branch, but something called Instabridge Sweden.
Is it easy/possible to install older versions? I presume the APKs are backed up somewhere.
APK Mirror: https://www.apkmirror.com/uploads/?appcategory=nova-launcher
The Nova Launcher archive goes all the way back to 2012, so that’s not a problem.
The thing is, if you install an old version and disable updates, you still depend on the Play Store not to update it. From time to time I manually open the Play Store to force updates, when some app isn’t working as it should. So for me at least, it’s only a matter of time until I forget about this and update the app.
We could block it from accessing the internet, but looking at DNS queries, this latest version also keeps retrying failed connections every few minutes. There’s no way that’s good for battery life.
In other words, while I’m sad and this is pain in the ass, it’s time for me to move on.