Honest Android software. Minimalist. No ads. No profiling. No subscriptions. No BS.
Via Láctea
Joined April 2026
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An honest Android launcher.
Minimal. Private. Lightweight. Fast.
No ads. No tracking. No subscriptions.
Pay once. No BS.
Independently built in Spain.
Know someone who'd appreciate it?
Help us spread the word.
play.google.com/store/apps/d…
Why location privacy matters:
Your personal data, including location, can be used to charge you more than your neighbor for the exact same product.
It's called surveillance pricing. NYC's City Council just voted to ban this practice.
xitter.gq/NYCMayor/status/212104…
Some companies use your personal data, like browsing history, to serve different prices to different costumers. It’s called surveillance pricing, and we just banned it in New York City.
This tweet will say the same thing in incognito mode, don’t worry.
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This obsession with turning absolutely everything into a subscription, while crippling perfectly valid, fully paid licences to push them, is going to blow up in their faces. Every single one of them.
It's psychotic.
And I certainly wouldn't dream of mentioning massgrave . dev
Niagara is a giant among launchers. VL is the newcomer.
Both are minimal, fast and lightweight.
Niagara has its unique approach. VL offers multiple home/drawer layouts, built-in icon styles, online radio, and is more private (zero tracking).
Are you a long-time Niagara user?
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Google recently emailed Android developers reminding us what NOT to do with location data.
If they're telling us not to do these things, it's because someone out there IS doing them.
Be careful what apps you install.
Don't believe everything you see on X. It's easier to show a flashy AI game demo than to ship and maintain a real product.
Hype gets clicks, and Claude hype is everywhere.
AI helps enormously, but you still need to design, understand and control what you build. For now.
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No, VL Launcher is proprietary software. Independently developed, with no sponsors, no investors, and no one to answer to.
No ads, no tracking, no subscriptions, no hidden agendas. Just a one-time purchase, mainly to cover promotion, server, and weather API costs.
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That genuinely makes my day! I'm so glad you gave VL another chance and managed to make it your own.
Thank you so much for your support and kind words.
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I agree.
The obstacle is manufacturing a truly European phone. It could cost twice as much, and few would pay that.
On software, we're closer: /e/OS is European; GrapheneOS and LineageOS are open source and auditable.
VL is European too, and as private as I could make it.
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Do you mean distribution outside Google Play, or compatibility with systems like GrapheneOS, LineageOS or /e/OS?
The latter should already work.
Distribution outside Google Play might be possible in the future, but VL would need a much larger user base to make that viable.
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Thanks a lot for trying VL and for your honest feedback.
VL is deliberately understated and minimalist, but that doesn't mean limited.
I completely understand if it's not what you're looking for, and that's perfectly fine. I really appreciate your sincerity.
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Gracias por probarlo, maestro Kenobi.
Sí puedes: mantén pulsado el símbolo "+"; no hay que arrastrarlas. Además, VL tiene tres escritorios distintos!.
Hay un manual en Ajustes.
Si quieres darle otra oportunidad, te doy 48 h para probarlo. Si no te convence, te reembolso.
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Ok: anyone reading gets 24 hours from purchase to try VL.
Don't like it? Use the app's contact button to ask for a refund. I'll refund you manually once I verify the purchase. Just say you read this on X.
Google's 2-hour window is easier for me, but let's try this.
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To really get to know VL, I agree. It's easy to learn, hard to master.
But two hours should be enough to know if it's NOT for you.
Anyway, how long would you consider reasonable? Genuine question. I'm open to changing it.
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I've burned enough money on Google Ads to learn these rules the hard way. This is the ONLY setup I've managed to make profitable:
1. Google's recommendations benefit Google, not you. IGNORE THEM.
2. Split countries into TWO campaigns: wealthy Europe and the Anglosphere. IGNORE EVERY OTHER COUNTRY.
3. Assets in ENGLISH. Languages: ALL. Location targeting: PRESENCE, never presence or interest.
4. Paid app? Optimize for install VOLUME. Free app with IAP? Optimize for in-app purchases.
5. tCPI = APP PRICE for one-time paid apps. For IAP apps, adjust proportionally to the percentage of users who actually pay. Read this twice.
6. IMPORTANT: Daily budget < tCPI. ALWAYS. You read that right. The algorithm OUTPERFORMS Google's recommended setup under these conditions.
7. Keep your daily budget below your app's price for one-time purchases, or adjust proportionally for other monetization models.
8. NEVER run campaigns with high budgets or without a tCPI. The algorithm doesn't know what to optimize for and WILL burn your money.
9. Set tCPI too low and you WILL buy bots, compulsive installers, kids and people who never pay.
Trust me, I've been through the grinder with Google Ads. This is the only configuration that finally made it profitable for me.
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VL Launcher. An honest Android launcher independently built in Spain.
Minimal. Private. Lightweight. Fast. No ads. No tracking. No subscriptions. Pay once. Use forever. No BS.
play.google.com/store/apps/d…
Try it for 2 hours. Not for you? Money back.
Help us spread the word.
