In September 2025, the sole developer and founder behind Nova Launcher stepped away from the project, effectively signaling the end of the popular Android launcher as we knew it. Now, Nova Launcher has a new Swedish owner, Instabridge, that promises to keep its legacy alive.
Nova Launcher was acquired by analytics firm Branch in July 2022. Following the acquisition, development slowed significantly, with Branch eventually laying off everyone involved in the launcher’s development except its founder, Barry.
Post Barry’s exit a few months ago, Nova Launcher’s future seemed all but dead. However, Swedish company Instabridge, which describes itself as “building products that help people get online,” has acquired Nova Launcher.
Its “immediate focus” is to keep Nova in a working state and actively maintained, ensuring it works on modern Android releases. It is not promising to revamp Nova. Instead, as responsible owners, they will take a maintenance-first approach, fixing reported bugs and making future changes with performance and customization in mind.
Instabridge will also not rush to roll out new features to Nova Launcher. Instead, it promises to prioritize quality and speed.
All signs point to ads coming to Nova Launcher
Unfortunately, despite Instabridge’s reassurances about keeping Nova’s legacy alive, things seem to be going in the opposite direction.
The company is exploring a sustainable business model to support Nova’s development, which could lead to ads appearing in the free version. The company may also introduce higher pricing tiers for Nova, again for sustainability reasons.
Nova Prime will remain ad-free, with Instabridge reducing its price to $3.99 after the acquisition. While the company will honor existing Prime licenses, there’s no guarantee that it will receive new features in the future.
What the company does not mention is that it has quietly added Facebook and Google Ads tracking to Nova Launcher (via @lemdro.id), a move that all but confirms that ads could be coming to the launcher.
If you are a long-term Nova Launcher user and still prefer it to other options, the good news is that at least the app won’t shut down. But that may eventually come at a cost, either in the form of ads or a higher-priced Ultra tier.
