What would you do with two hours everyday? Try mindfulness, enjoy the results.
Before Launcher | Go Minimal turns your phone into a distraction-free, privacy-conscious home screen. Ranked #148 in Personalization in ir and rated 4.72 from 12,696 reviews, it has built a strong user base with 500,000+ total downloads and 6.7K new in the last 30 days, reflecting steady appeal among minimalist users.
Pros & Cons
Ad-free experience with no ongoing subscriptions (lifetime purchase across devices)
Privacy-first design with no data collection and optional anonymous analytics
Easy setup with guided onboarding for quick use
Efficient, minimal UI that reduces distractions while staying functional
Some features (e.g., hiding apps) are available only in the pro version
May have fewer broad customization options compared to some competitors
Widget ecosystem and advanced features may appeal to power users who want more depth
About Before Launcher | Go Minimal
Before Launcher | Go Minimal is a productivity app developed by ⎋ Before Labs.
Download Statistics
Before Launcher | Go Minimal has been downloaded 700 thousand times. In the last 30 days, the app was downloaded 6.7 thousand times. It is ranked #115 in productivity.
User Ratings
Before Launcher | Go Minimal is rated 4.70 out of 5 stars. The rating is based on 13 thousand ratings.
App Information
Before Launcher | Go Minimal is FREE to download. The APK download size is 9.15 MB. The latest version available is 9.0.0-12192256962. The last update was on June 4, 2026.
Technical Requirements
Before Launcher | Go Minimal requires Android 7.0+ or higher. The app has a content rating of Everyone. The app has been available on Google Play March 2019.
Description
⚡️Stay focused using the minimalist launcher with style and functionality.
🔥Top 10 minimal launchers ✶Featured by Mrwhosetheboss and Copper vs Glass as a pioneer in Android minimal launchers✶
✶Open your phone 40% less✶ ✶Reduce distractions with the notification filter. 80% of all notifications don’t warrant interruption✶ ✶Focus on what matters. Streamline your work and play✶
❌ Zero ads, never a subscription ✶No ads, EVER✶ ✶No subscriptions, EVER✶ ✶Lifetime purchase for ALL of your devices✶
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Before Launcher maximizes your time by minimizing the look of your phone. This minimalist launcher provides functional features including:
✅ Minimal homescreen Quick launch of your most important apps. It’s configurable, too!
📱Customize the look, make your own clean style Choose from our large list of photo, gradient and solid themes or create your own.
🚀 Fast access to your favorites and everything else with one swipe Fast access to all your apps in a scrollable, sortable & searchable list.
⭐ Favorite, folder and hide your apps Group apps into folders. Pin apps to the top of your apps list. Hide unwanted and distracting bloatware (*available in pro version)
⛔ Hide trivial notifications Our filtered notification drawer is unique. Trivial notifications don't interrupt you with vibrations, pings or noise. They won't clutter up your notification bar. But you still receive them and they are accessible with a quick swipe.
🔕 Notified but not distracted Focus on what is essential. Important notifications (defined by you) still notify you, so you don’t miss anything.
🤝 Built to be private We are not in the business of capturing or selling your data. We don't track any data that identifies you. We even allow you to turn off our anonymous analytics.
🔒 No required permissions = more privacy/security Many other launchers want 10 or more device permissions. (the notification filter asks for one access but you can turn off that feature).
🎯Take control of your phone Before Launcher can sort apps by their size, their installed date and the last time you used them. Uninstall the ones that take up too much space, or you never use.
⚙️Suite of custom widgets designed for wellness Practice mindfulness using our free widgets designed to reduce screen time. See date & time, battery, weather, and your average screen unlocks for the day and week.
🦄 Style your app icons Add our own styles and also add 3rd party icon packs.
💯Easy set up Our guided process helps you get Before Launcher set up in no time.
❤️No AI, just humans We’re here for any questions, comments, or concerns about the launcher.
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Selected as one of Fast Company's best new apps of the year in 2019.
The minimalism movement inspired our work! This includes books like Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport, How to Break Up with Your Phone by Catherine Price and Indistractable by Nir Ayal. (2) Products like the Lightphone.
The Before Launcher app, with your consent, uses Android's Accessibility Service API to enable the double-tap gesture to quickly turn off your device’s screen. Your use of this feature is optional. The accessibility service in Before Launcher is disabled by default. Your consent is required to allow the accessibility service to be used by the Before Launcher and when consent is granted it is only used for the double-tap feature. You can revoke your consent at any time. The feature and the service do not collect or share any data.
Recent changes: 🚀 9.0.0 💾 Added backup & restore with support for preserving solid colors and gradient themes 📐 Customizable home screen folder app scaling ↕️ Adjust vertical spacing saved in Homescreen settings ✂️ Fixed clipped "Long press" onboarding text 💥 Fixed app crash in notifications view 🎬 Fixed home screen animations 🐛 Crash fixes and performance improvements ❤️ New way to support the developers
Get a detailed PDF report for Before Launcher | Go Minimal with download trends, rating history,
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Comments on Before Launcher | Go Minimal for Android
★★★★☆Jim Distler· Apr 21, 2026
I think this is one of the best launchers in the store right now. Minimalism has made my device less of an attention seeking machine and more of a useful tool in my day to day. However, I can only give 4/5 stars due to some limitations in layout: - Apps cannot have their icons changed individually. They either align with the pack selected by the user or not at all. - Folders within folders, full screen folders and the ability to use standard widgets and spacers on the home screen would be nice.
★★★★★Ian Macaig· Apr 9, 2026
Great launcher experience, I like the notification zone and find it both intuitive and very useful to look at my phone less.
★★★★★Michael “Hans”· Apr 28, 2026
Pleasant to use, easy on the eyes, very customizable and many features that make using my phone easier to use, so far I truly enjoy using my phone. Thanks to developer(s) for a very fine launcher !!!
★★☆☆☆Will Baker· May 6, 2026
Good concept, I liked it, and paid for the full version, but it kept locking and crashing my phone (Pixel 9a). With all the good reviews here and on Reddit, I'm sure it's a problem with my phone and not the app.
★☆☆☆☆Michael D Henry· Apr 27, 2026
Damn keyboard keeps popping up even though I disabled it. Now I remember why I stopped using this spp
Google Play Rankings for Before Launcher | Go Minimal
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Before Launcher | Go Minimal is requesting 23 permissions and is using 47 libraries.
Show details
Trust & Safety: Before Launcher emphasizes privacy and safety: it does not collect identifying data, and anonymous analytics can be disabled. The optional Accessibility Service feature (double-tap to turn off the screen) requires user consent, is disabled by default, and can be revoked at any time; no data is collected or shared without consent.
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