The Unnecessary Prompt
Ubuntu is designed to be a universally accessible operating system. Because of this, it periodically runs background checks to ensure that the currently selected system language is fully supported by all installed applications. If you recently installed a new software package (like a third-party media player or a specific LibreOffice extension), Ubuntu might detect that a minor translation file is missing. The next time you log in, it will automatically launch a popup window titled “Language Support,” prompting you to download the missing translations. If you only speak English and don’t care that a random app’s help menu isn’t fully localized, this popup is an annoying interruption.
Disabling the Language Support Check
To prevent these unexpected popups and stop Ubuntu from automatically checking for missing language support files, you must disable the specific startup application responsible for the check.
The system triggers this check via a hidden startup script. To disable it, press the Super (Windows) key, type Startup Applications, and hit Enter. The Startup Applications Preferences window will open. Scroll through the list of programs that run at boot. You are looking for an entry named something similar to Check language support (or it might be listed simply as `update-notifier`). While you can uncheck the box next to it, it’s safer to disable the specific checking mechanism via the terminal to ensure it doesn’t return during a system update. Open a terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and type gsettings set com.ubuntu.update-notifier show-apport-crashes false (Wait, this is for crashes, to disable the language check specifically, you must edit the apt conf). Type sudo nano /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/99disable-translations and enter: Acquire::Languages "none";. Save and exit. This stops the system from ever fetching the data the popup relies on.