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I stumbled across some articles from 2012 lambasting Ubuntu for adding in a new feature that adds online searches to desktop searches. In doing some due diligence, I see that all the news and uproar is from 2012 and there seems to be nothing newer. I think this is the original article, ars technica did a pice, and there is a question here that is now locked Ubuntu with spyware?. There is a question on the Ubuntu forum that's also locked.

It seems this feature was added to 12. Is this still an issue? Is this feature still there in subsequent versions? Have things changed substantially in the 4 years since? While this may ignite some flames of passion, asking for an update on the situation should fit very well within the Stack Exchange format. I have left my opinions on the matter of privacy at the door, so you should too.

(FYI, 1 rep means 2 links max)

Ars article: http ://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/12/richard-stallman-calls-ubuntu-spyware-because-it-tracks-searches/

Ubuntu forum post: http ://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2092359

Community
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YetAnotherRandomUser
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    This is a forum for help not discussion ... http://ubuntuforums.org/forum.php has places for discussion as welle as help – pfeiffep May 22 '16 at 16:14
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    Honestly, it never was relevant. There never was any "spyware". There was an Amazon search feature, yes, but all searches were duly anonymized by Canonical so there was no tracking. The rest is just shock journalism IMO. – Seth May 22 '16 at 16:16
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    Either way, the feature is off by default in 16.04. – Seth May 22 '16 at 16:17
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    @allanonmage no need to be rude, you know... that's a fast-fire way to get blocked if done consistently, as being rude to others is against the site rules. – Thomas Ward May 22 '16 at 16:42
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    eh, people are just tired of the never ending media escapades about it. Also, your title is.. less than optimal for a Q/A based site that doesn't do opinion based discussions. The downvotes are more likely because your questions hinges on being "primarily opinion based" rather than about the search feature. – Seth May 22 '16 at 16:42
  • Would it not also be considered rude to not read a question, downvote it, and post a half ass relevant comment? Once, I can turn the other cheek, but it seems it's an SE systemic thing unless you have loads of feedback. And it obviously just happened here 4x. Seems like I was ganged up on for no reason, not corrected for asking a poor quality question. There is a marked difference in implementation of both of those scenarios. – YetAnotherRandomUser May 22 '16 at 16:47
  • I read the question twice, found it to be somewhat rude and opinionated and therefore voted to close. Don't assume; we try not to. – TheWanderer May 22 '16 at 16:50

1 Answers1

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There is a setting in the Search tab inside All Settings/Privacy called Include online search results. This setting used to be ON by default and this is the setting the articles are referring to.

Now it's OFF by default but even if it isn't, you can turn it OFF yourself whenever you like.

Stormlord
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