Nothing OS 4.0 Beta Sparks Controversy Over Lock Screen Ads Feature

Nothing has built its reputation on clean, minimalist design and a user interface that proudly avoids the usual Android clutter. But the company’s latest beta release, Nothing OS 4.0, seems to be stepping onto shaky ground. While the update – based on Android 16 – extends to users of the Phone (3a) and Phone (3a Pro), one new addition has caught users off guard for all the wrong reasons: a feature called Lock Glimpse.

At first glance, Lock Glimpse sounds like an elegant addition – a curated gallery of stunning wallpapers to brighten your lock screen.

But hidden beneath that promise is something more commercial than creative. Instead of merely rotating scenic backgrounds, Lock Glimpse quietly integrates what Nothing calls “captivating content.” In practice, this translates to ads disguised as wallpapers.

Tech enthusiast @AnshuTechblog revealed the feature in action through posts on X (formerly Twitter). In his screenshots, every wallpaper included a snippet of text at the bottom. Tapping on it doesn’t just open a description of the photo; it opens a linked promotional article or product page. What could have been a refreshing visual feature suddenly looks like a digital billboard glued to your lock screen.

Worse still, the wallpapers are reportedly provided by Bouyan, a Chinese advertising platform. This revelation raised eyebrows across Reddit and X, where users questioned why a company like Nothing – which often emphasizes transparency and a user-first design philosophy – would allow third-party ad networks into the most personal layer of the phone’s interface.

Fortunately, Lock Glimpse isn’t active out of the box. For now, the feature is disabled by default in the beta version. That’s a small relief, especially considering how some brands – including Motorola and Samsung – have implemented similar ideas through the Glance Lock Screen platform. Those systems, often powered by AI-curated content, are notorious for pushing ad-based lock screens and were once enabled automatically on budget and midrange devices. Samsung even expanded its partnership with Glance this year to introduce “Glance AI,” a supposed content and shopping assistant. While Nothing hasn’t mentioned any AI tie-in, users have noted that some Lock Glimpse wallpapers appear algorithmically generated, giving them an uncanny feel.

The community response has been swift and harsh. Many longtime fans of the brand, who admired Nothing’s sleek and ad-free aesthetic, now feel betrayed. Critics argue that Lock Glimpse contradicts the company’s own marketing – a brand that positions itself as the antidote to bloated Android skins shouldn’t be flirting with lock-screen ads. Some users have even joked that the feature should be renamed to “Ad Glimpse.”

To Nothing’s credit, beta testing exists precisely for moments like this – when controversial features are met with public scrutiny before rolling out widely. But the company will have to make a choice: double down on this monetization experiment or listen to its community and pull the feature before the final release of Nothing OS 4.0.

In the end, the backlash serves as a reminder of how fragile user trust can be in the smartphone world. Transparency and simplicity are the very principles that helped Nothing stand out. Introducing ads, even in subtle forms, risks undermining that entire identity. If the company wants to preserve its image as a disruptor rather than just another ad-driven brand, Lock Glimpse may need to quietly disappear before it ever sees a stable release.