The Privacy Concerns of Unified Search
When you press the Super (Windows) key on an Ubuntu desktop, you enter the Activities Overview, which features a global search bar at the top. By default, this search bar is not just looking at your local hard drive. It is heavily integrated with the internet, pulling in search results from the Canonical store, Wikipedia, and various online web services. If you simply want to launch an installed application or find a local text document, this web integration slows down your search results and raises significant privacy concerns, as your local keystrokes are being sent to external servers.
How to Disable Web Search Integration
You can easily restrict the Ubuntu search tool to only look at your local, offline files and installed applications by modifying your system privacy settings.
1. Open the standard Ubuntu Settings application.
2. In the left-hand sidebar, click on Search.
3. You will see a master list of everything the system is allowed to search through.
4. First, look at the top for the master toggle labelled Search. Ensure this remains ON, as you still want to search locally.
5. Look through the list of search providers below. Locate any entries related to the web, specifically Web, Ubuntu Software, or Snap Store.
6. Click the toggle switch next to these online services to turn them Off.
Refining Local Search Performance
While you are in this menu, you can further improve the speed of your Activities Overview by disabling other local search providers you never use. If you only use the search bar to launch applications, you can turn off the toggles for Files, Calculator, Characters, and Terminal. The fewer locations the system has to index and query, the faster your applications will appear the moment you press the Super key and start typing.