Nova Video Player
by nova-video-player · Apache-2.0 · open source
An open-source video player for phones, tablets and Android TV: it plays files from the device and from network shares, and builds a library with posters and descriptions.
Needs:No root · Android 6.0+ · 32- or 64-bit
2113 Apps is independent, not affiliated with or endorsed by nova-video-player. Official sources: source code on GitHub.
- Version
- 6.5.3-20260930.1914
- Size
- 84.4 MB
- Requires
- Android 6.0+
- Updated
- 2026-09-30
Introduction
Nova is an open-source video player for Android phones, tablets and TVs. It started as a fork of the Archos Video Player Community Edition and is developed by Courville Software, which describes itself as “a non-profit organization based in France, operated by volunteers”. In its own words, Nova “is just a video player and does not point to any streaming service”: you bring the videos.
What it does
From the project’s FAQ:
- Network shares: SMB versions 1 to 3, which the project recommends, plus UPnP, FTP, FTPS, SFTP (recommended for remote access) and WebDAV. NFS isn’t supported.
- A library with posters and descriptions, for films and series, from The Movie Database (TMDb). It also reads Kodi-style NFO files and artwork kept next to your videos.
- Subtitles: SRT, SUB, VobSub and PGS; SSA support is “rudimentary”. It can download subtitles from OpenSubtitles when you ask, which needs an opensubtitles.com account.
- Android TV: a separate interface for the TV remote. Video decoding uses the device’s hardware where it can, and three audio passthrough modes for AV receivers are available in the settings, off by default.
- Extras: resume points shared between devices on a network share, Trakt scrobbling once you sign in, and intro and outro skipping from community databases, off by default.
Torrents
Nova can also play a video from a .torrent file or magnet link, a feature its README and store descriptions don’t mention. It downloads the file in order, plays it as it arrives and saves it to your Downloads folder by default. Meanwhile it uploads to other BitTorrent users at up to 200 KiB/s. There is no torrent search in the app, and the torrent part only runs when you open a torrent. An optional peer blocklist can be loaded in the settings.
What goes online
- TMDb: on by default for new videos. The privacy policy says only “a processed version of the video file names” is sent. F-Droid flags the app NonFreeNet because this service isn’t free software.
- OpenSubtitles and Trakt: only when you use them.
- Crash reports: this build reports crashes to Nova’s own Sentry server, with no option to turn it off. The project’s release script builds GitHub releases with this option, and the file contains the server address. IzzyOnDroid flags the same build Tracking for this reason. Nova’s privacy policy, which says that only GitHub pre-releases do this, no longer matches.
About this file
- This is the developer’s own build: the universal APK from Nova’s GitHub release 6.5.3, signed with the developer’s key (SHA-256 fingerprint starting 05:AF:68:04). IzzyOnDroid carries the same signed build, but only for 32-bit ARM.
- Google Play has Nova from the same developer. The developer says the Play and F-Droid versions are signed differently, so switching between versions may mean uninstalling first. F-Droid builds and signs its own copy, which has been stuck at 6.4.3.
- The 84.4 MB file runs on Android 6.0 and later, on ARM and x86, 32- and 64-bit. Most of it is native code, repeated for each of the four processor types: largely FFmpeg, built under its LGPL licence, and the libtorrent engine. GitHub also has a separate, much smaller APK for each processor type.
- It declares 24 permissions, 8 of which need your approval. Our scan found one tracker library, Sentry, used for crash reporting.
- Nova is licensed under Apache-2.0.
What’s inside the APK
Trackers
Code from these SDKs is in the package. That shows it is bundled, not how it is used.
Native code
Runs on 64-bit and older 32-bit ARM phones.
Android versions
Built for Android 16 (target API 36).
Permissions
8 of them need your approval first.
CPU types in this build: arm64-v8a (64-bit ARM, almost every phone since 2017); armeabi-v7a (32-bit ARM, older and budget phones); x86 (32-bit Intel, emulators); x86_64 (64-bit Intel, emulators and Chromebooks).
Asks you first (8)
Android shows a prompt before the app can use these.
- Connect to paired Bluetooth devices · BLUETOOTH_CONNECT
- Show notifications (Android 13+) · POST_NOTIFICATIONS
- Read shared storage (Android 12 and older) · READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
- Read photos · READ_MEDIA_IMAGES
- Read videos · READ_MEDIA_VIDEO
- Read only the photos and videos you pick · READ_MEDIA_VISUAL_USER_SELECTED
- Record audio with the microphone · RECORD_AUDIO
- Write shared storage (Android 10 and older) · WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
You switch these on in Settings (1)
Special app access. Nothing is granted until you turn it on yourself.
- Display over other apps · SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW
Granted at install (12)
Low-risk permissions Android grants automatically, plus any we have not classified.
- ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE
- ACCESS_WIFI_STATE
- BROADCAST_STICKY
- CHANGE_WIFI_MULTICAST_STATE
- CHANGE_WIFI_STATE
- FOREGROUND_SERVICE
- FOREGROUND_SERVICE_MEDIA_PLAYBACK
- INTERNET
- MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS
- RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED
- USB_PERMISSION
- WAKE_LOCK
Defined by other apps (3)
Permissions that belong to another app or to this app itself.
- com.android.providers.tv.permission.READ_EPG_DATA
- com.android.providers.tv.permission.WRITE_EPG_DATA
- org.courville.nova.DYNAMIC_RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED_PERMISSION
More Information
- Package name
- org.courville.nova
- Version
- 6.5.3-20260930.1914 (build 2671314)
- File size
- 84.4 MB (84,355,186 bytes)
- Requires
- Android 6.0 or later
- Category
- Media
- License
- Apache-2.0
- Developer
- nova-video-player
- Source code
- github.com/nova-video-player/aos-AVP
- Released
- Sep 30, 2026
- Signer SHA-256
- 05af6804bcad9e7e6d22d2ffc39fca1857a4aeb4385097cad91b11e5bac1f615
- File SHA-256
- 9fb09f80467a82194202ffe157bc7515d00a03b4b4ffd0d4debe4e1ada78f028
- Checked
- , against the v6.5.3 release on GitHub · how we check · verify it yourself
Common questions
Is this APK the official Nova Video Player release?
Yes. It is the file from the project’s v6.5.3 release on GitHub, byte for byte, and it matches the SHA-256 checksum GitHub publishes for it. It is signed with the certificate we recorded when we first checked Nova Video Player (SHA-256 05af6804bcad9e7e6d22d2ffc39fca1857a4aeb4385097cad91b11e5bac1f615); a release signed with a different key would not be published here.
What Android version does Nova Video Player need?
Android 6.0 or later (API level 23). Version 6.5.3-20260930.1914 is built for Android 16 (target API 36). Runs on 64-bit and older 32-bit ARM phones.
Can Nova Video Player access the internet?
Yes. The APK requests Android’s internet permission. In total it declares 24 permissions, and 8 of them need your approval first.
Does Nova Video Player contain trackers?
Yes. Version 6.5.3-20260930.1914 contains code from Sentry, which matches an Exodus Privacy tracker signature. That shows the code is bundled, not how the app uses it.
Is Nova Video Player open source?
Yes. Nova Video Player is released under the Apache-2.0 licence, and its source code is published at https://github.com/nova-video-player/aos-AVP.
Does Nova Video Player send crash reports?
This build does. Nova’s GitHub releases are built with Sentry crash reporting switched on, and the app has no setting to turn it off. Nova’s privacy policy says only GitHub pre-releases send crash reports; that no longer matches its release builds. According to the project’s build files, the F-Droid and Google Play versions are built without it.
Can Nova Video Player play torrents?
Yes, though the project doesn’t advertise it. Open a .torrent file or a magnet link and Nova downloads the video in order and plays it as it arrives. Like any BitTorrent client, it uploads to other users meanwhile, up to 200 KiB/s. It has no built-in search: it only plays torrents you open. Only download what you have the right to.
Will Nova Video Player run on my TV box?
Most likely. This is the universal APK, with native code for 32- and 64-bit ARM and x86, so it also runs on the many TV boxes with a 32-bit system. It needs Android 6.0 or later, and it has an interface built for TV remotes.
Recent releases
| Version | Released | Size |
|---|---|---|
| v6.5.3 · this download | Sep 30, 2026 | 84.4 MB |
| v6.5.2 | Sep 27, 2026 | 84.3 MB |
| v6.4.72 | Sep 24, 2026 | 84.7 MB |
| v6.4.71 | Sep 23, 2026 | 84.7 MB |
| v6.4.64 | Sep 12, 2026 | 84.4 MB |
Recent releases on the project’s GitHub. We host and check only the newest one. Full changelog.
