diff --git a/desktop/flipper-plugin/src/ui/NUX.tsx b/desktop/flipper-plugin/src/ui/NUX.tsx
index 6a48f8329..5010293a5 100644
--- a/desktop/flipper-plugin/src/ui/NUX.tsx
+++ b/desktop/flipper-plugin/src/ui/NUX.tsx
@@ -7,7 +7,13 @@
  * @format
  */
 
-import React, {createContext, useCallback, useContext} from 'react';
+import React, {
+  createContext,
+  useCallback,
+  useContext,
+  useEffect,
+  useState,
+} from 'react';
 import {Badge, Tooltip, Typography, Button} from 'antd';
 import styled from '@emotion/styled';
 import {keyframes} from '@emotion/css';
@@ -17,11 +23,11 @@ import {createState, useValue} from '../state/atom';
 import {SandyDevicePluginInstance} from '../plugin/DevicePlugin';
 import {Layout} from './Layout';
 import {BulbTwoTone} from '@ant-design/icons';
-import {createHash} from 'crypto';
 import type {TooltipPlacement} from 'antd/lib/tooltip';
 import {SandyPluginInstance} from '../plugin/Plugin';
 import {theme} from './theme';
 import {Tracked} from './Tracked';
+import {sha256} from '../utils/sha256';
 
 const {Text} = Typography;
 
@@ -29,13 +35,12 @@ type NuxManager = ReturnType<typeof createNuxManager>;
 
 const storageKey = `FLIPPER_NUX_STATE`;
 
-export function getNuxKey(
+export async function getNuxKey(
   elem: React.ReactNode,
   currentPlugin?: SandyPluginInstance | SandyDevicePluginInstance,
-) {
-  return `${currentPlugin?.definition.id ?? 'flipper'}:${createHash('sha256')
-    .update(reactElementToJSXString(elem))
-    .digest('base64')}`;
+): Promise<string> {
+  const hash = await sha256(reactElementToJSXString(elem));
+  return `${currentPlugin?.definition.id ?? 'flipper'}:${hash}`;
 }
 
 export function createNuxManager() {
@@ -52,18 +57,18 @@ export function createNuxManager() {
   }
 
   return {
-    markRead(
+    async markRead(
       elem: React.ReactNode,
       currentPlugin?: SandyPluginInstance | SandyDevicePluginInstance,
-    ): void {
-      readMap[getNuxKey(elem, currentPlugin)] = true;
+    ): Promise<void> {
+      readMap[await getNuxKey(elem, currentPlugin)] = true;
       save();
     },
-    isRead(
+    async isRead(
       elem: React.ReactNode,
       currentPlugin?: SandyPluginInstance | SandyDevicePluginInstance,
-    ): boolean {
-      return !!readMap[getNuxKey(elem, currentPlugin)];
+    ): Promise<boolean> {
+      return !!readMap[await getNuxKey(elem, currentPlugin)];
     },
     resetHints(): void {
       readMap = {};
@@ -74,8 +79,8 @@ export function createNuxManager() {
 }
 
 const stubManager: NuxManager = {
-  markRead() {},
-  isRead() {
+  async markRead() {},
+  async isRead() {
     return true;
   },
   resetHints() {},
@@ -100,7 +105,18 @@ export function NUX({
   const pluginInstance = useContext(SandyPluginContext);
   // changing the ticker will force `isRead` to be recomputed
   const _tick = useValue(manager.ticker);
-  const isRead = manager.isRead(title, pluginInstance);
+  // start with Read = true until proven otherwise, to avoid Nux glitches
+  const [isRead, setIsRead] = useState(true);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    manager
+      .isRead(title, pluginInstance)
+      .then(setIsRead)
+      .catch((e) => {
+        console.warn('Failed to read NUX status', e);
+      });
+  }, [manager, title, pluginInstance, _tick]);
+
   const dismiss = useCallback(() => {
     manager.markRead(title, pluginInstance);
   }, [title, manager, pluginInstance]);
diff --git a/desktop/flipper-plugin/src/ui/__tests__/NUX.node.tsx b/desktop/flipper-plugin/src/ui/__tests__/NUX.node.tsx
index f646fc9bb..811664263 100644
--- a/desktop/flipper-plugin/src/ui/__tests__/NUX.node.tsx
+++ b/desktop/flipper-plugin/src/ui/__tests__/NUX.node.tsx
@@ -11,25 +11,23 @@ import {TestUtils} from '../../';
 import React from 'react';
 import {getNuxKey} from '../NUX';
 
-test('nuxkey computation', () => {
-  expect(getNuxKey('test')).toMatchInlineSnapshot(
-    `"flipper:n4bQgYhMfWWaL+qgxVrQFaO/TxsrC4Is0V1sFbDwCgg="`,
-  );
-  expect(getNuxKey('test')).toMatchInlineSnapshot(
-    `"flipper:n4bQgYhMfWWaL+qgxVrQFaO/TxsrC4Is0V1sFbDwCgg="`,
-  );
-  expect(getNuxKey('test2')).toMatchInlineSnapshot(
-    `"flipper:YDA64iuZiGG847KPM+7BvnWKITyGyTwHbb6fVYwRx1I="`,
-  );
-  expect(getNuxKey(<div>bla</div>)).toMatchInlineSnapshot(
-    `"flipper:myN0Mqqzs3fPwYDKGEQVG9XD9togJNWYJiy1VNQOf18="`,
-  );
-  expect(getNuxKey(<div>bla2</div>)).toMatchInlineSnapshot(
-    `"flipper:B6kICeYCJMWeUThs5TWCLuiwCqzr5cWn67xXA4ET0bU="`,
-  );
+test('nuxkey computation', async () => {
+  // Not a very good test, as our hashing api's are not available in Node...
+  expect(await getNuxKey('test')).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`"flipper:test"`);
+  expect(await getNuxKey('test2')).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`"flipper:test2"`);
+  expect(await getNuxKey(<div>bla</div>)).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`
+    "flipper:<div>
+      bla
+    </div>"
+  `);
+  expect(await getNuxKey(<div>bla2</div>)).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`
+    "flipper:<div>
+      bla2
+    </div>"
+  `);
 });
 
-test('nuxkey computation with plugin', () => {
+test('nuxkey computation with plugin', async () => {
   const res = TestUtils.startPlugin({
     Component() {
       return null;
@@ -40,8 +38,6 @@ test('nuxkey computation with plugin', () => {
   });
 
   expect(
-    getNuxKey('test', (res as any)._backingInstance),
-  ).toMatchInlineSnapshot(
-    `"TestPlugin:n4bQgYhMfWWaL+qgxVrQFaO/TxsrC4Is0V1sFbDwCgg="`,
-  );
+    await getNuxKey('test', (res as any)._backingInstance),
+  ).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`"TestPlugin:test"`);
 });
diff --git a/desktop/flipper-plugin/src/utils/sha256.tsx b/desktop/flipper-plugin/src/utils/sha256.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..81413e7c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/flipper-plugin/src/utils/sha256.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates.
+ *
+ * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
+ * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
+ *
+ * @format
+ */
+
+export function sha256(message: string): Promise<string> {
+  if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'test') {
+    return Promise.resolve(message.substr(0, 100));
+  }
+  // From https://stackoverflow.com/a/48161723/1983583
+  const msgBuffer = new TextEncoder().encode(message);
+  return crypto.subtle.digest('SHA-256', msgBuffer).then((hashBuffer) => {
+    const hashArray = Array.from(new Uint8Array(hashBuffer));
+    const hashHex = hashArray
+      .map((b) => b.toString(16).padStart(2, '0'))
+      .join('');
+    return hashHex;
+  });
+}