5 legendary Android apps that you shouldn’t use anymore
5 legendary Android apps that you shouldn’t use anymore
https://www.howtogeek.com/legendary-android-apps-that-you-shouldnt-use-anymore/
Publish Date: 2026-02-27 10:00:00
Source Domain: www.howtogeek.com
Android’s long history has seen many popular apps come and go, but some of the old favorites have stuck around. That doesn’t mean you should keep using them, though. Apps change, and those changes can put you at risk.
It’s not uncommon for an app to quietly get a new owner, and things slowly go downhill. New owners are not always the culprit. Sometimes the original vision gets lost, and sometimes the original owners were never great to begin with.
Nova Launcher
For over a decade, Nova Launcher has been one of the most beloved Android apps. It became popular for offering a level of customization and speed that stock launchers couldn’t match. However, concerns about Nova’s future started back in 2022 when it was acquired by Branch Metrics.
The original development team stuck around for a while, but it was mainly just the founder, Kevin Barry, keeping Nova afloat. Last year, Barry officially stepped away, and it’s been downhill ever since. The app is being stuffed with increasingly aggressive ads, and there’s no one left to stop Branch from inserting data collection or analytics. Nova Launcher isn’t what it used to be.
Suggested replacement: Lawnchair Launcher
WPS Office Suite
In the early days of Android, there were few options for high-quality “office” apps. WPS Office was one of the best ways to handle documents on a small screen. It was lightweight and handled Microsoft Office formats, which was more important at the time.
Over the last few years, however, the app has become bloated. It tries to do too many things at once—including AI, of course—and the free version is now full of ads and interruptions. But the biggest issue is that there are simply many better options available now. Times have changed, and so…
