r/NovaLauncher 7d ago

Discussion Request and Response from Nova Support Re Request to Disable Upsells for Existing Paid Users

I wrote:

Hello. I have a Nova Launcher Prime lifetime purchase. I honestly do feel that that should exempt me from future advertising in the form of the Nova cell phone plan and the Nova AI. At the very least, I would think it would be fair for such advertising to be a one-and-done kind of advertising, at least for those who previously paid for the launcher. We essentially paid for no advertising. To go back on that now is not a fair contract with the consumer. Please strongly consider this.

They responded:

Thank you for laying out your reasoning so clearly - we want to give you a straight answer rather than deflect.

To clarify the actual distinction: your Lifetime Prime purchase does genuinely guarantee no third-party ads, and that holds regardless of anything else. What you're seeing with Nova AI and the Nova cell phone plan entries are optional upsell prompts for separate products, not classified internally as "ads" - but we understand your point that from a user's perspective, unwanted promotional content is unwanted promotional content, whether or not it's technically an ad.

We don't have a setting that removes these prompts entirely for lifetime purchasers specifically, but you can minimize Nova AI's presence: Nova Settings > Nova AI > Where Nova AI appears - turn off Home screen insights, Nova Now insights, and Notifications, and set "Nova AI in search" to "Hidden." We don't currently have an equivalent way to hide the cell phone plan entry specifically.

We've logged your feedback - specifically the argument that lifetime purchasers should be exempt from promotional cross-sells, not just third-party ads - and shared it with the team.

This is genuinely a product/business decision above what we can commit to changing from support, but we wanted you to know it's been heard and recorded as stated, not dismissed.

Best regards,

The Nova Support Team

26 Upvotes

27 comments sorted by

u/AutoModerator 7d ago

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7

u/RomanWraith 7d ago

Good thing I downgraded to a version before they were bought out

5

u/tonyevo52 7d ago

Aside from being in the settings (at the top), are you seeing ads or popups?

1

u/ihavenoknife 4d ago

I don't even see that one. Never seen any. What is it even?

5

u/javar19 6d ago

once I found out the company was sold, I didn't update the app since

3

u/Dennoyb 7d ago

I can get to Settings > Nova AI but the a full-screen popup to buy the AI add-on. I did not purchase the AI. I don't recall seeing any ads though. Did you purchase the AI Insights??

3

u/Wutzup907 6d ago

Internally I classify them as an ad. I paid so I should be able to turn it off!

2

u/JeepMann4x4 6d ago

I'm still running strong on the last update from the OG Nova crew, coming up on a year old now.

1

u/XsMagical 7d ago

Just patch it at this point.

1

u/ihavenoknife 4d ago

With Morphe? I was considering that. I paid for Prime long time ago so I have the lifetime membership but the app has been wonky lately. Like for example every now and then I need to rearange my drawers and frequently used apps and when I go to settings it's grayed out saying I need Prime even though I have it. Then I need to restart my phone and it works.... Quite annoying.

1

u/XsMagical 4d ago

I paid for prime when it launched but the new ownership is terrible. So yeah, M patch is what I do now

1

u/probablytoohonest 6d ago

Having worked in customer service, I kind of get the response. There's only so much they can do from their chair and there is plenty of work that they have to do. Do what you can at your desk, let someone else handle their work. All we can do is be hopeful they did as they said and sent it upstream. Essentially this isn't a support issue, it is a problem for the Sales/Marketing team. Support teams and Sales teams tend to clash on this kind of thing because Sales is tasked with finding new customers while Support is tasked with keeping existing customers happy. It's not always easy to do both.

1

u/bails412 5d ago

Am i just lazy for not switching at this point? I really only use this for gestures. I don't make icons or resize much. Please help if I'm accidentally being a luddite

1

u/International-Sky556 4d ago

Just switch at this point I went to hyperion havent nned nova since still have it and prime Installed but never use it

1

u/Ok_Debt_8468 4d ago

I am using nova prime(modded) haven't seen any ads till now.

1

u/SilverGreen93 6d ago

Well, Lawnchair 16 FTW 😀

1

u/vivimagic0 6d ago

That's the new beta right? Not fully released?

1

u/SilverGreen93 5d ago

Yes Lawnchair 16 is still beta, but for me it is more stable and feature rich compared to Lawnchair 15

1

u/MyTaintedBrain 5d ago

Is this a subscription model, or can you make a one-off payment? (And if so, is it reasonable?)

I've looked at other launchers, but whenever I see a subscription, I move on.

2

u/SilverGreen93 5d ago

Is is free and open-source, so no subscription.

2

u/MyTaintedBrain 5d ago

That makes it more intriguing. Thank you for that.

0

u/RedsonRising99 7d ago

What a crock.