When you install Ubuntu Linux, one of the final screens in the setup wizard asks if you want to “Send system info to Canonical.” If you leave this checked, Ubuntu installs a background telemetry daemon called ubuntu-report. This tool periodically wakes up in the background and sends anonymous data about your computer hardware, your timezone, your desktop environment, and the packages you have installed directly to Canonical’s servers.
While Canonical uses this data legitimately to decide which hardware drivers to prioritize in future updates, many Linux users switch to open-source operating systems specifically to escape the constant background tracking and telemetry found in Windows and macOS.
If you accidentally opted in, or if you simply changed your mind, you can completely disable this telemetry tracking.
How to Turn Off Telemetry in the Settings GUI
The easiest way to opt-out is through the standard Privacy settings.
- Open the Settings app from the GNOME application launcher.
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on Privacy.
- In the main window, click on Diagnostics.
- You will see a setting labeled “Send error reports to Canonical.” Change this option from “Automatic” to Never.
How to Remove the Telemetry Tool Entirely (Terminal)
If you want absolute peace of mind that your machine is physically incapable of reporting usage data to Canonical, you can use the terminal to uninstall the tracking package completely.
- Open your terminal application (
Ctrl+Alt+T). - Run the following command to completely purge the telemetry reporter from your system:
sudo apt purge ubuntu-report
- While you are at it, you can also purge
popularity-contest(a tool that tracks which apps you use the most and sends that data to Ubuntu package maintainers):
sudo apt purge popularity-contest
Your Ubuntu machine is now completely silent. It will no longer ping Canonical servers with information about your hardware or your software usage.