Nova Launcher, an Android launcher app, has been acquired by Instabridge
It has been revealed that
Nova Launcher: An update | Nova Launcher
https://novalauncher.com/nova-is-here-to-stay
On January 20, 2026, Nova Launcher announced in an 'Update' post that 'Instabridge has acquired Nova Launcher.' Instabridge is a Swedish company that develops products that help millions of people around the world connect to the internet.
Nova Launcher was developed by Kevin Barry in 2011 and was a popular app with over 100 million installs on Google Play alone. However, in 2022, it was acquired by a company called Branch, and in 2024, almost all of the staff were laid off. Even Barry, who remained at Branch, left development in 2025.
The app's development had been unstable, and on January 19, 2026, it was embedded with ad trackers for the first time, and the provider was changed to an unknown company called 'Instabridge,' which led to growing distrust among users.
A statement from Nova Launcher confirmed that the app has been separated from Branch, and that development of Nova Launcher will continue under the new management structure, with a focus on performance improvements and bug fixes, and a policy of listening to community feedback before making major decisions.
However, the company also hints at a focus on profitability, with the introduction of an unconventional advertising model and an immediate price increase for the paid version . Instabridge explained that these investments will 'enable performance improvements, deep customization, long-term compatibility with Android, and the development of sophisticated features that require serious engineering efforts.'
Instabridge said in a statement about the acquisition, 'We have long admired the speed, customizability, and user-driven nature of Nova Launcher. Seeing the passionate support from the community, we were convinced that Nova Launcher needed a stable future with active maintenance.'
There was a previous promise that Nova Launcher would be open-sourced if Barry stepped down, but this was broken when Barry left and has yet to be realized. Regarding the proposal to open-source Nova Launcher, Instabridge reported, 'Responsible open-sourcing of a product involves licensing, security, build tools, contribution workflow, trademark management, and more. While no decisions have been made at this time, we are actively considering the matter and will share any decisions made transparently.'
Related Posts:
in Software, Smartphone, Posted by log1p_kr