The Silent Bandwidth Drain
Ubuntu increasingly relies on “Snaps”—a universal packaging format created by Canonical—to distribute popular software like Firefox, Spotify, and Slack. Unlike traditional APT packages, which wait for you to manually initiate an upgrade (or use the Software Updater GUI), the Snap daemon (`snapd`) is designed to be completely autonomous. By default, it quietly checks for updates four times a day and automatically downloads and installs them in the background. While this ensures your software is always current and secure, it is highly problematic if you are on a metered internet connection, a slow cellular tether, or if you simply prefer to review software changes before they are forcefully applied to your system.
Metering the Snap Daemon
To regain control over your network bandwidth and stop Ubuntu from automatically updating Snaps in the background, you must configure the Snap daemon to recognize your active connection as metered.
While you cannot completely disable Snap updates permanently without breaking the system, you can effectively pause them indefinitely by telling the daemon you are on a restricted network. Open your terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T. You will use the `snap` command-line tool. Type exactly: sudo snap set system refresh.metered=hold and press Enter (provide your password). This tells `snapd` to completely pause all automatic background updates whenever the operating system considers the current network connection to be metered. (Ensure your Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection is actually set as “Metered” in the main Ubuntu Network/Wi-Fi settings GUI). Your Snaps will now only update when you manually run the command sudo snap refresh.