Disable online search result collection (collects queries)
- Linux onlyThis script improves your privacy on Linux
- Single actionThis page belongs to a script, containing basic changes to achieve a task.
- Impact: Medium
System Functionality / Data Loss Risk: Moderate
This action improves privacy with minimal impact when you run the recommended script.
This action improves privacy with some impact when you run the recommended script. - Bash (Shell script)These changes use Linux system commands to update your settings.
- Sudo/root requiredThis script requires privilege access to do the system changes
- Fully reversible
You can fully restore this action (revert back to the original behavior) using this website.
The restore/revert methods provided here can help you fix issues.
Overview
Online search is introduced in Ubuntu Lens in Ubuntu 12.10 1. It has been known as "Shopping Lens",
"Online Search Results" and "More Suggestions" 1. The search data is sent to productsearch.ubuntu.com
1.
Online search results are considered a privacy concern by governments 2 and can be disabled using the
remote-content-search
option 2.
This script is only recommended if you understand its implications.
Some non-critical or features may no longer function correctly after running this script.
This script can be fully reversed to restore changes if something goes wrong.
Sources
- UbuntuLens - Community Help Wiki. help.ubuntu.com. (2022).
Original: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuLens
Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20221029162420/https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuLens - End User Devices Guidance: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. gov.uk. (2022).
Original: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/end-user-devices-security-guidance-ubuntu-1404-lts/end-user-devices-guidance-ubuntu-1404-lts
Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20221029162443/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/end-user-devices-security-guidance-ubuntu-1404-lts/end-user-devices-guidance-ubuntu-1404-lts
Apply Now
Choose one of three ways to apply:
Help
How to apply or restore "Disable online search result collection (collects queries)" using script
- ≈ 3 min to complete
- Tools: Web Browser
- Difficulty: Medium
- ≈ 5 instructions
- 1
Download
Download the script file by clicking on thebutton above.
Use button above to restore changes. - 2
Keep the file
If warned by your browser, keep the file. - 3
Open
Open the downloaded file. - 4
Exit
Once it's done, press any key to exit the window. - 5
Restart
Restart your computer for all changes to take effect.
Apply with privacy.sexy
Guided, automated application with safety checks- Recommended for most users
- Includes safety checks
- Free
- Open-source
- Popular
- Offline/Online usage
Help
How to apply or restore "Disable online search result collection (collects queries)" using privacy.sexy
- ≈ 3 min to complete
- Tools: privacy.sexy
- Difficulty: Simple
- ≈ 4 instructions
- 2
Choose script
- Search for the script name: Disable online search result collection (collects queries)
- Check the script by clicking on the checkbox.
- 3
Run
Click on ▶️ Run button at the bottom of the page.This button only appears on desktop version (recommended). On browser, use 💾 Save button.
- Apply
- Revert
if ! command -v 'gsettings' &> /dev/null; then
echo 'Skipping because "gsettings" is not found.'
else
gsettings set com.canonical.Unity.Lenses remote-content-search none
fi
ImlmICEgY29tbWFuZCAtdiAnZ3NldHRpbmdzJyAmPiAvZGV2L251bGw7IHRoZW5cbiAgICA+JjIgZWNobyAnQ2Fubm90IHJldmVydCBiZWNhdXNlIFwiZ3NldHRpbmdzXCIgaXMgbm90IGZvdW5kLidcbiAgZWxzZVxuICAgIGdzZXR0aW5ncyBzZXQgY29tLmNhbm9uaWNhbC5Vbml0eS5MZW5zZXMgcmVtb3RlLWNvbnRlbnQtc2VhcmNoIGFsbFxuICBmaSI=
Help
How to apply or restore "Disable online search result collection (collects queries)" using commands
- ≈ 2 min to complete
- Tools: Terminal
- Difficulty: Medium
- ≈ 3 instructions
- 1
Open terminal
Open your terminal application. - 2
Copy code
Copy the code: - 3
Paste & run
Paste the commands into terminal application and press Enter to run.Some changes require a system restart to take effect
Similar Guides
Wider Goal
Guides below includes this guide to achieve a wider goal.See other more general settings that includes this one as one of its actions.
These plans combine multiple privacy settings, including this one, for stronger protection.
- Disable Ubuntu telemetry
- Disable OS data collection
Ubuntu is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu, along with its upstream Debian, has many official (Kub...
All operating systems collect data. This is part of their work. Sometimes, this data has high privacy implications, especially when it is submitted to third partie...
Same Goal
Other guides in Disable Ubuntu telemetrySee settings that are in the same category as this guide.
Using other actions in the same category may help you achieve your goal better.
About the Creators
These people have authored this documentation and written its scripts:
Reviewed By
This guide has undergone comprehensive auditing and peer review:Expert review by undergroundwires
- Verified technical accuracy and editorial standards
- Assessed system impact and user privacy risks
Public review by large community
- Privacy enthusiasts and professionals peer-reviewed
- Millions of end-users tested across different environments
History
We continually monitor our guides, their impact and all other privacy options. We update our guides when new information becomes available. On every update, we publicly store who made the change, what has been changed, why the change was made and when the change was made.