Nothing is rolling back its controversial lock screen ads feature, but only on select devices.
With the release of Nothing OS 4.0 based on Android 16 in October, the company introduced Lock Glimpse. The feature displayed ads on the lock screen under a branded name and launched on the Nothing Phone (3a), Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, and Nothing Phone (3a) Lite. Since its introduction, Lock Glimpse has drawn criticism from users.
Although Nothing allowed users to disable the ads, multiple reports claimed the feature continued to consume significant battery power even when turned off. The issue fueled ongoing backlash across supported devices.
Nothing has now confirmed that Lock Glimpse will be removed from the Nothing Phone (3a) and the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro. However, the feature will remain on the Nothing Phone (3a) Lite and on future CMF-branded phones.
A company representative explained that the Lite model operates under different constraints. According to Nothing, offering competitive pricing on more affordable devices requires certain compromises. For those devices, Lock Glimpse will remain part of the software experience.
Nothing stated that Lock Glimpse will be disabled by default on supported models and will continue to be easy to remove. The company added that it plans to keep refining the feature over time.
