Hey everyone! I'm on the hunt for a user-friendly Linux distro and was considering Kubuntu. However, I'm unsure about the controversies surrounding Ubuntu's telemetry. Does Kubuntu also send telemetry data to developers? And what about Flatpaks—are they supported on Kubuntu? Any insights would be greatly appreciated!
5 Answers
Kubuntu is basically Ubuntu but with the KDE desktop environment as the default. So the telemetry issues are pretty similar, but you can opt out of it if you'd like.
If you're concerned about telemetry, rest easy. You can choose not to send crash reports. As for Flatpaks, they’re available on Kubuntu just like on any other distro, so you're good there.
Totally agree, it seems like people confuse the two.
Last I checked, Ubuntu's telemetry is opt-in. You can skip it during installation. The data collected isn’t tied to your IP, but I get why you might be wary of it.
I’ve been turned off Ubuntu because of Canonical's direction. While telemetry is opt-in, the biggest concerns are really around Snaps and how they're integrated. Kubuntu does include these Snap issues and it doesn't come with Flatpaks out of the box, but they’re really just a step away to set up.
Yes, Kubuntu does have some telemetry, but you can easily disable it. To answer your second question, Flatpaks are supported on Kubuntu, so you're covered there! Check out the Kubuntu Flathub setup for easy installation.
Good to know! And I've heard of KDE Neon as another option; any thoughts on that?
I've tried KDE Neon too, it's quite nice if you love KDE!
That's true, but remember that Snaps from Ubuntu are a more controversial issue. They're often seen as invasive.