The Ghost Keyboard
Ubuntu is designed to be versatile, supporting both traditional desktop setups and touch-enabled devices like tablets and 2-in-1 convertible laptops. To facilitate touch support, the GNOME desktop environment includes a built-in On-Screen Keyboard (OSK). However, on some systems—particularly laptops with touchscreens that are mostly used with a physical keyboard, or desktop monitors that report phantom touch inputs—Ubuntu might incorrectly assume you need the virtual keyboard. This causes the massive on-screen keyboard to automatically slide up from the bottom of the screen every time you click into a text field, terminal, or browser search bar, blocking half your screen real estate.
Disabling the On-Screen Keyboard
To stop Ubuntu from automatically activating the on-screen keyboard when focusing on text inputs, you must disable the Screen Keyboard accessibility feature within the system settings.
Open the Settings application from the GNOME application grid (or click the system tray in the top-right corner and select Settings). Scroll down the left-hand sidebar and click on Accessibility. In the main pane, look under the “Seeing” or “Typing” section (depending on your exact Ubuntu version) for the Screen Keyboard option. If this toggle switch is turned on (highlighted), Ubuntu is actively listening for text field focus events to deploy the virtual keyboard. Click the toggle to switch it to the Off position. This instantly disables the OSK daemon. You can now click into any text field across the operating system without the virtual keyboard automatically interrupting your workflow.