Nothing’s New ‘Lock Glimpse’ Sends Some Users to Ad‑Heavy Content Sites, Reveals Investigation

Nothing’s latest feature, a wallpaper carousel-based lock screen called Lock Glimpse, is on radar for allegedly redirecting users to a ‘made-for-advertising’ (MFA) website. According to a new investigation, links appearing on lock screen wallpapers, which keep rotating at particular intervals, lead to what is dubbed “a website of clickbait farm websites.”

9to5Google claims Nothing’s Lock Glimpse, launched alongside the company’s first branded low-cost phone, Nothing Phone 3a Lite, features clickbait headlines or content related to the wallpaper appearing on the lock screen, right above the fingerprint unlocking area. Clicking this piece of content opens a website with a lengthy article featuring several advertisements.

The investigation said these advertisements bring revenue to both Nothing and the partner company, called Vilykke, that creates the content. Particularly, Vilykke creates content on multiple random websites, all featuring bylines of people who were found to have no to little online presence. 9to5Google alleged that these articles are intended to “waste time and view ads,” as they contain random content related to recipes, DIY projects, or information without citations.

“In other words, Nothing’s phones are directing users to a clickbait farm,” said the investigation report, adding that the most questionable part of Nothing’s partnership with the firm is the lack of upfront disclosure to users. What’s more shocking is that Vilykke may have access to your device information, which should be irrelevant to a lock screen tool if it comes preloaded on a phone. According to Nothing, “no personal data is shared” when using Lock Glimpse.

Nothing has yet to comment on the investigation, but it puts focus back on the recent clarification after the company faced criticism for adding third-party apps and advertisements to its mobile platform. Akis Evangelidis, co-founder of Nothing, previously said, "They’re not random—we’re working with popular platforms many of you already use daily, and in some cases, these integrations can even enhance performance or provide tighter experiences, such as improved camera or sharing features.

Previously, the company launched Nothing Chats, an app built on Sunbird, with a pitch that it is compatible with iMessage. However, the support was never implemented. As that was not enough to irk users, a user later found that Sunbird-powered Nothing Chats had access to every message sent or received, alongside attachments, such as documents, images, videos, audios, and PDF files.

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