As a tech journalist, every time I get my hands on a new Android phone, I have a little ritual. Some people start by tweaking notification settings, while others rush to install their go-to apps. Me? I go straight to the lock screen and hunt down the one feature that always feels more like a nuisance than a perk, Glance.
If you've ever used a phone that ships with it, you know what I mean. Glance is that preloaded lock screen feed delivering bite-sized news, entertainment updates and shopping deals. In reality, however, it's way more intrusive than you'd want it to be and is merely an annoyance dressed up as a smart feature.
What exactly is Glance lock screen?
Glance isn't some obscure add-on, but is backed by InMobi, a major player in mobile advertising that has partnerships with brands like Xiaomi, Samsung and Realme. The idea is simple here - monetise the lockscreen, the most frequently accessed surface on a phone.
So, every time you wake your phone up, you're greeted not by your wallpaper but by a rotating carousel of content ranging from news headlines and celebrity gossip to shopping promotions and posing models, which is enough to make your partner disown you.
On paper, it's positioned as "personalised discovery", but in practice, it's advertising with a thin layer of editorial polish. Besides, unlike an app you can choose to install, Glance often comes baked into the system, mostly enabled by default.
Why is Glance the first thing I uninstall?
The moment I see Glance on a new phone, I know it's not sticking around. Here's why:
- Clutters the lock screen: For me, the lock screen is supposed to be simple with timely notifications, a few quick shortcuts and definitely some personality with a great wallpaper. Instead, Glance throws in all this content which feels noisy.
- Eats into battery and data: Sure, the battery drain from Glance isn't dramatic, but why should my phone waste resources constantly refreshing content I don't even consume? It's like leaving a tap running when I'm not thirsty.
- It's ultimately bloatware: Android phones are already infamous for bloatware, especially in the budget and mid-range segment. And I try to minimise this as much as I can by disabling ads and uninstalling any bloat I see. So, having Glance turned on doesn't make any sense to me when ultimately I'm looking for a clean software experience.
Honestly, the bigger picture here is that, when I buy a phone, I expect it to serve me and not the advertisers. Glance flips it around and turns my lock screen into prime real estate for monetisation, which is not the deal I signed up for.
Glance is just part of a broader trend in consumer tech where ads are creeping into core experiences. We've seen it with smart TVs that push sponsored tiles and streaming apps that hike subscription fees while inserting ads. Phone makers, especially in price-sensitive markets, argue that these integrations help bring down the phone prices. Nothing tried to do the same thing and received a lot of heat for introducing the Nothing OS 4.0 Lock Glimpse feature.
...when I buy a phone, I expect it to serve me and not the advertisers. Glance flips it around and turns my lockscreen into prime real estate for monetisation, which is not the deal I signed up for.
But the trade-off is rather clear, and while you're paying less upfront, you're paying more with your experience. For users like me and a majority out there who value a clean, distraction-free interface, it's a compromise that feels increasingly hard to swallow.
Fortunately, though, removing Glance isn't rocket science and on most phones, you can disable it right in the lockscreen settings. The difference is immediate and instead of waking your phone to a cluttered feed, you get your wallpaper and lock screen personality back. The lock screen finally feels yours again and while it's a small tweak, there's undoubtedly a satisfying sense of control.
One might even wonder if uninstalling Glance is worth a 600-word feature story. I'd argue yes, especially since it represents a larger conversation about user experience. By uninstalling Glance, I'm making a statement, however small, that my lock screen isn't for sale.
My lock screen, my rules
Glance in the lock screen takes over the very first thing I see on my phone, turning my personal space into a stream of ads and promotions. Removing it has become a major part of my setup ritual and a quick way to reclaim control before I even start using the phone I'm testing.
For some people, Glance might be harmless noise or even a convenient way to skim headlines. But for me, the lock screen is too personal to hand over to advertisers. I want it clean, simple, mine and free of someone else's idea of what I should be looking at. That's why Glance is always the first thing to go.
