Kubuntu 20.04 - Telemetry data / Local Search

[danibert]

Hi Folks,
I'm new to Kubuntu and Linux at all. Coming from Windows10 because I did not like how this OS was spying on me.
I managed to install Kubuntu and all my apps from Kubuntu's official packet source.
Today I found a YouTube video and some more articles, regarding Ubuntu's spying behaviour regarding the collection and transmission of local search plus telemetry data.

Since Kubuntu forks from Ubuntu, I'm wondering, if Kubuntu does the same?
If so, how can I stop this?

Thank you for all info

[TWPonKubuntu]

You can start here: The application launcher is the KDE "gear" icon, usually in the bottom left corner.

Application Launcher->System Settings->Personalization->Applications->Diagnostics

Uncheck the box labeled "Send error reports to Canonical"

Your browser is also probably sending reports out. That depends on which browser you use. I Don't recommend using anything from Google. Firefox can also have been configured "out of the box" to send information back to Mozilla. I no longer use the generic Firefox browser, instead I use a fork of Firefox called Pale Moon.

Do a websearch for more information. Obviously, I don't recommend using Google as your search engine because it tracks your search requests and adds you to their database. I recommend using DuckDuckGo.com as your default search engine because they pay more respect to your privacy than most other search engines.

There are probably other configuration options which you may want to disable. I recall finding then and disabling them, but I don't remember where they are accessed. Somebody else on this forum can assist you on this.

[GreyGeek]

And, be aware that Canonical is trying to monetize Ubuntu by creating an app store, which is in addition to the normal repository which contains around 60,000 applications. The snapd daemon comes preinstalled and it is joined at the hip with the chromium-browser. Install one and the other comes along for the ride. The snapd daemon resides in services 24/7/365. Is it waiting for you to run the snap command? Why? I use muon, and before that Synaptic package manager, and neither required a daemon running 24/7/365 to work properly.

I don't access the repository 24/7/365 so I only need muon when I run muon. Or, I use the apt command from a Konsole. I don't use the chromium-browser either. And, I noticed that snapd required 10 loop device services mounted to file locations in order to work. I have a paranoid suspicion that Canonical will slowly move more and more packages from the repository to the snap store and eventually drop the repository. But that's just my paranoid guess.

Snap claims one good feature: when you install a snap package it includes all the files it needs without depending on any existing libraries or other files. IOW, snap packages behave like statically compiled programs, self contained. Flatpaks work the same way, but offer FAR FEWER packages than snapd's store.

There is another technology which I like very much. AppImages. They, too, include everything the package needs in order to properly run without touching your system. You download the AppImage and mark it executable as a user. Then you can add it to your menu or just click on it from Dolphin and it runs. When you decide to uninstall the package you merely delete the AppImage and it is gone. Changes in your system due to updates do not affect AppImage applications on your system. I am currently running 15 AppImage packages.

I have totally removed snapd from my system.
https://www.kevin-custer.com/blog/di...-ubuntu-20-04/

In addition to what that website suggests I would do the additional steps:

sudo systemctl disable snapd.seeded.service
sudo systemctl mask snapd.seeded.service
sudo systemctl disable snapd.service
sudo systemctl mask snapd.service
sudo apt-mark hold snapd

The last command locks snapd at its current version so that it cannot be updated for forced installed.

[danibert]

sudo apt-mark hold snapd seems not to work. I get 2 error:
dpkg: Error: dpkg frontend lock is locked by another process
E: dpkg returned an error (2)

What to do here?

Additionally, I read about popcon and apport. Is there a need to deactivate or uninstall these?

[chimak111]

Once trust is shaken, it's better to move on. Even if you find all the spyware that is present today, who knows what can happen down the road. Do some reading and find some other distro that meets your needs. That's the only way to be sure that Canonical/Ubuntu is not spying on you. (Of course, there is the possibility that the other distro maybe colluding with Canonical/Ubuntu.)

[GreyGeek]

sudo apt-mark hold snapd seems not to work. I get 2 error:
dpkg: Error: dpkg frontend lock is locked by another process
E: dpkg returned an error (2)

What to do here?

Additionally, I read about popcon and apport. Is there a need to deactivate or uninstall these?

Your first error simply means you tried to access the repository a second time without closing the first access.
Close any package manager and konsoles you may have open, then open a Konsole and reissue the command.
IF either your package manager or Konsole crashed it may have left the lock in place. Note the time you opened either one and then do a search on /var for the "lock" file and delete it. There are several lock files in the system. The one you want to delete is the one with a time stamp closest to your current time.


Popcon is about reporting to Ubuntu on a weekly basis the apps you like. Leave it or purge it at your will.

Apport is the crash reporting utility. Most Kubuntu systems are not configured for development and so no useful information is sent back. You can purge it.
I have purged both from my system.

[claydoh]

Hi Folks,
I'm new to Kubuntu and Linux at all. Coming from Windows10 because I did not like how this OS was spying on me.
I managed to install Kubuntu and all my apps from Kubuntu's official packet source.
Today I found a YouTube video and some more articles, regarding Ubuntu's spying behaviour regarding the collection and transmission of local search plus telemetry data.

Since Kubuntu forks from Ubuntu, I'm wondering, if Kubuntu does the same?
If so, how can I stop this?

Thank you for all info

Just to note here, Kubuntu's, or rather Plasma's desktop search has zero relation with Ubuntu's search at all.
Also, look at the age of those videos and articles, the Ubuntu search brouhaha is an old and no longer valid item, iirc.