New Delhi: Nothing has recently begun testing the lock screen ads in the Nothing OS 4.0 open beta for its users. Although the company has also claimed that it needs the revenue to survive as a minor player in the highly competitive smartphone market, it is easy to see the change as the start of the slippery slope. Beta participants will see the latest features called the Lock Glimpse, which displays application recommendations and other information while it is showing pre-selected wallpapers. Nothing stresses that the features will not share personal data and that users can deactivate them in the settings menu.
On the recently unveiled entry-level Nothing Phone 3, Lock Glimpse is opt-in; another feature will display a curated selection of recommended applications upon initial setup. Nothing is attempting to secure the software-based revenue stream by shipping the 3a and other non-flagship phones with the pre-installed applications. In all of the regions except Japan, these include Facebook and Instagram, while the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Japan receive TikTok. Pre-installed application experience slightly smoother performance, and the company advised Instagram and Facebook users against deleting the Meta application installer to ensure smooth updates.
Those Android application developers and phone providers have attempted to serve ads on lock screens over the years. Amazon also allowed them on discounted Moto G phones in 2016, and Google banned many Play Store applications from displaying lock screen ads in the following years. Lock screen ad platform Glance has reached hundreds of millions of phones in Asian countries in recent years, and it began expanding into the US market last year.
