2.5.0

Custom activity detection and sharing, announcements, Discord display and privacy.

What's new

Automatic custom activity detection

• Add an optional detection link to a custom activity to select it automatically when the active tab in the focused browser window matches. Leaving the matching page ends automatic selection.
• Match a domain or path, including subdomains with *.example.com and a trailing * for paths. Leave the field empty to keep using the activity manually.
• A manually activated custom activity takes priority over automatic detection.
• If several custom activities match, the most recently updated matching activity wins.
• Detection links are included when exporting and importing custom activities. Older files without this field remain supported.

Public custom activity links

• Publish a public link with your Discord account's author name and avatar. The saved version becomes public, never your unsaved draft.
• Preview before explicitly adding an independent copy. New copies are inactive with automatic detection disabled.
• Keep the same link when you explicitly update or unpublish it. Existing recipient copies stay installed and never update automatically.
• Recipients can keep local changes or replace them after reviewing an update. An open editor blocks replacement to protect unsaved work.
• Deleting a shared activity guides you through two confirmations in one sheet: disable its public link, then delete the activity. Activities without a link go straight to deletion.
• After account erasure, confirmed absence of its publications allows local deletion without the old account. If verification is unavailable or inconclusive, the source is preserved.

Announcements and release notes

• Read announcements and published release notes in the News tab, then open an entry for its full details. Published changelog files are included automatically; undated, future or explicitly unpublished drafts stay out of the feed.
• Announcements use your interface language, with a fallback when a translation is missing. Release notes fall back to English.
• Pinned notices appear above the Activity header. Warnings use yellow, orange or red according to severity; maintenance uses the theme's primary color. The strip opens News and has no dismissal button.
• Estimated maintenance end times are shown as dates, not countdowns or promises of recovery. At the estimated end, the banner disappears but the notice stays readable unless it has a separate expiry date.
• The feed refreshes automatically, keeps the last valid copy available offline and saves read status on your device.

Discord activity display

• Presences can attach public HTTPS links to their details and state text with detailsUrl and stateUrl, independently of activity buttons. Invalid links and links without corresponding text are ignored.
• Presences can choose the text shown in Discord's compact status with statusDisplayType: activity name, state or details. This does not change the activity card's contents.

These fields require compatible versions of the SDK, extension and native host. Older runtimes ignore them. They do not add a new display selector to the custom activity editor.

Improvements and fixes

• Canary developer settings now let you switch between Nowly Canary and the regular Nowly logo.

• The Activity tab now lists custom activities by default, with a setting to keep them only in their dedicated tab. Activity and Settings have consistent headers and clearer empty states. Update badges are visible in grid view, and presence detail actions and custom activity deletion have clearer styling.

• Duplicate an existing custom activity. Import and create actions now sit beside the activity list, which also marks shared and active activities. The Coffee break template has been removed.

• A reusable multi-step sheet displays progress and supports custom content and forms for future flows.

• Toast messages wrap on narrow screens instead of being cut off, and their icons keep a consistent size.

• Filled delete confirmation buttons have improved text contrast in dark mode.

• The custom activity editor shows how many link buttons you can still add.

• Settings are easier to browse: scrolling snaps section by section while keeping the Settings title and connection summary together. Icons have a consistent size and tile style, the signed-out account card is simpler, and the connected account avatar has matching rounded corners.

• Hide the Library, Custom or News tab from the navigation bar when you do not need it. Activity and Settings stay available. Reset the navigation layout from Settings to restore the default arrangement. Hiding News does not hide pinned Activity notices.

• Video progress, including YouTube playback, now fills as playback advances, while custom activity countdowns continue to show the time remaining.

• Custom activity countdowns no longer show a minus sign before the remaining time.

• The review prompt's Rate button no longer repeats the stars already shown above it.

• Copy a Bitcoin, Ethereum or Solana address with one click in Support Nowly, with confirmation after copying.

• When at least two installed presences have updates available, update them in one action. Updates run one at a time.

• Idle activity card actions now fit in narrow side panels.

• Presence updates, reinstalls and removals are ordered per presence so an older update cannot restore an activity you just removed.

• Enabling a presence is only saved after its script registers successfully. Failed activations and bulk-operation failures are reported instead of appearing successful.

• The user scripts permission label explains more clearly what needs to be enabled in the browser.

Privacy and platform changes

• Optional Umami product events replace the old Insights analytics. Website and extension consent are independent; events are relayed through the API without persistent visitor identifiers or browsing/activity content.
• The old Insights pages, endpoints, analytics models and campaign functionality have been removed. The former global analytics and session-recorder scripts are not enabled by this release.
• Legal confirmations now follow the actual update dates of the terms and privacy policy rather than internal version numbers. Existing numeric receipts require a new confirmation; cached document dates remain usable offline.
• The uninstall page distinguishes keeping or deleting functional device data from optional analytics. Opening it only sends a product event with website analytics consent.
• ChromeOS waitlist and support interfaces have been removed. Browser extension support remains focused on Chrome and Firefox, with the native host on Windows, macOS and Linux.

Website, documentation and maintenance

• Package names, descriptions and project links have been updated to reflect Nowly and each package's role.

• Package contributor credits consistently list Gaëtan H and Anthony (KiMi).

• Git commits automatically format staged TypeScript files using the project's formatting rules, preserving unstaged changes.

• The homepage presents custom activities, with artwork contrast and announcement-bar colors adapted to the active theme.

• Website keyboard navigation, skip links and visible focus have been improved. Animations respect reduced-motion preferences, and moving content can be paused.

• Localized FAQ, contact and recovery guidance, and cookie-policy links have been updated.

• Developer documentation now covers automatic settings.ts discovery, compact Discord status selection, clickable activity text and the image proxy.

• The announcements API supports protected publication, scheduling, expiry and live feed updates.

• Public Nowly code is now under the MIT license. Extension, website and API tests have been consolidated and corrected, including announcement details and display-mode switching.