Consumer Rights Wiki - User contributions [en]

Canonical

2026-05-21T07:16:52Z

38.194.105.150: Added products mentioned on the canonical website. https://canonical.com/

{{Stub}}{{CompanyCargo
|Description=British software company known for developing Ubuntu.
|Founded=2004
|Industry=Computing
|Logo=Canonical logo 2023.svg
|ParentCompany=
|Type=Private
|Website=https://www.canonical.com/
}}

'''{{Wplink|Canonical (company)|Canonical}}''' is a software company best known for creating {{Wplink|Ubuntu}}, an operating system based on {{Wplink|Linux kernel|Linux}}. It is largely funded by South African billionaire {{Wplink|Mark Shuttleworth}}.

==Consumer impact summary==
{{Ph-C-CIS}}

==Positives==
===Upstreaming in the Linux ecosystem===
Alongside Red Hat and [[Google]], Canonical makes up a substantial portion of upstream security patches in the Linux ecosystem. They maintain AppArmor,<ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=AppArmor |url=https://apparmor.net/ |website=AppArmor |date= |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250316220151/https://apparmor.net/ |archive-date=16 Mar 2025}}</ref> a Linux security system that proactively manages threats, Snap,<ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=The app store for Linux |url=https://snapcraft.io/ |website=Snapcraft |date= |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250316210326/https://snapcraft.io/ |archive-date=16 Mar 2025}}</ref> a Linux appstore with sandbox support, and Livepatch,<ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=Livepatch |url=https://docs.kernel.org/livepatch/livepatch.html |website=Livepatch |date= |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250403104219/https://docs.kernel.org/livepatch/livepatch.html |archive-date=3 Apr 2025}}</ref> a system to patch the Linux kernel without needing to reboot.

==Incidents==
This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].

===Tracking===
Canonical collects user telemetry from Snap,<ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=Snap Store metrics |url=https://snapcraft.io/docs/snap-store-metrics |website=Snapcraft |date= |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250305174544/https://snapcraft.io/docs/snap-store-metrics |archive-date=5 Mar 2025}}</ref> which is shipped by default in Ubuntu.<ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=Installing snap on Ubuntu |url=https://snapcraft.io/docs/installing-snap-on-ubuntu |website=Snapcraft |date= |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250303224655/https://snapcraft.io/docs/installing-snap-on-ubuntu |archive-date=3 Mar 2025}}</ref>

Previously, Canonical sent local file search queries to their own servers, which were used to recommend ads on [[Amazon]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stallman |first=Richard |title=Ubuntu Spyware: What to do? |url=https://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/ubuntu-spyware-what-to-do |website=Free Software Foundation |date=12 Jul 2012 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250317144129/https://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/ubuntu-spyware-what-to-do |archive-date=17 Mar 2025}}</ref> In 2014, this feature was removed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hoffman |first=Chris |title=Ubuntu’s Unity 8 desktop will remove the Amazon search ‘spyware’ |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/436097/ubuntus-unity-8-desktop-removes-the-amazon-search-spyware.html |website=PCWorld |date=29 Oct 2014 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250311164248/https://www.pcworld.com/article/436097/ubuntus-unity-8-desktop-removes-the-amazon-search-spyware.html |archive-date=11 Mar 2025}}</ref>

In 2018, telemetry tracking for hardware components, software configuration, and crashes were added in an opt-out model.<ref>{{Cite web |author=allo |title=How to opt-out usage data collection in Ubuntu 18.04 (bionic)? |url=https://superuser.com/questions/1311588/how-to-opt-out-usage-data-collection-in-ubuntu-18-04-bionic |website=superuser |date=6 Apr 2018 |access-date=24 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406230212/https://superuser.com/questions/1311588/how-to-opt-out-usage-data-collection-in-ubuntu-18-04-bionic |archive-date=6 Apr 2018}}</ref>

===Ad for Ubuntu Pro when using APT (''2022—'')===
[[File:Ubuntu terminal ad for Pro.png|thumb|alt=Running APT update in the terminal shows an ad for Ubuntu Pro.|Running APT update in the terminal shows an ad for Ubuntu Pro.]]
In September 2022, Canonical started adding opt-out<ref>{{Cite web |author=Scotty_Trees |title=How to get rid of Ubuntu Pro advertisement when updating apt? |url=https://askubuntu.com/questions/1434512/how-to-get-rid-of-ubuntu-pro-advertisement-when-updating-apt |website=Ask Ubuntu |date=9 Oct 2022 |access-date=24 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009180059/https://askubuntu.com/questions/1434512/how-to-get-rid-of-ubuntu-pro-advertisement-when-updating-apt |archive-date=9 Oct 2022}}</ref> ads for their Ubuntu Pro service when using APT.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sneddon |first=Joey |title=Ubuntu's New Terminal 'Ad' is Angering Users |url=https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2022/10/ubuntu-pro-terminal-ad |website=OMG! Ubuntu |date=26 Jan 2023 |access-date=24 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013141920/https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2022/10/ubuntu-pro-terminal-ad |archive-date=13 Oct 2022}}</ref>

==Products==
*Ubuntu
*Snapcraft
*OpenStack
*MicroCloud
*Juju

==See also==
[[Systemd adds age indication ahead of schedule]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Software companies]]
[[Category:Linux]]

Canonical

2026-05-21T07:14:41Z

38.194.105.150: Added Snapcraft to products

{{Stub}}{{CompanyCargo
|Description=British software company known for developing Ubuntu.
|Founded=2004
|Industry=Computing
|Logo=Canonical logo 2023.svg
|ParentCompany=
|Type=Private
|Website=https://www.canonical.com/
}}

'''{{Wplink|Canonical (company)|Canonical}}''' is a software company best known for creating {{Wplink|Ubuntu}}, an operating system based on {{Wplink|Linux kernel|Linux}}. It is largely funded by South African billionaire {{Wplink|Mark Shuttleworth}}.

==Consumer impact summary==
{{Ph-C-CIS}}

==Positives==
===Upstreaming in the Linux ecosystem===
Alongside Red Hat and [[Google]], Canonical makes up a substantial portion of upstream security patches in the Linux ecosystem. They maintain AppArmor,<ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=AppArmor |url=https://apparmor.net/ |website=AppArmor |date= |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250316220151/https://apparmor.net/ |archive-date=16 Mar 2025}}</ref> a Linux security system that proactively manages threats, Snap,<ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=The app store for Linux |url=https://snapcraft.io/ |website=Snapcraft |date= |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250316210326/https://snapcraft.io/ |archive-date=16 Mar 2025}}</ref> a Linux appstore with sandbox support, and Livepatch,<ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=Livepatch |url=https://docs.kernel.org/livepatch/livepatch.html |website=Livepatch |date= |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250403104219/https://docs.kernel.org/livepatch/livepatch.html |archive-date=3 Apr 2025}}</ref> a system to patch the Linux kernel without needing to reboot.

==Incidents==
This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].

===Tracking===
Canonical collects user telemetry from Snap,<ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=Snap Store metrics |url=https://snapcraft.io/docs/snap-store-metrics |website=Snapcraft |date= |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250305174544/https://snapcraft.io/docs/snap-store-metrics |archive-date=5 Mar 2025}}</ref> which is shipped by default in Ubuntu.<ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=Installing snap on Ubuntu |url=https://snapcraft.io/docs/installing-snap-on-ubuntu |website=Snapcraft |date= |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250303224655/https://snapcraft.io/docs/installing-snap-on-ubuntu |archive-date=3 Mar 2025}}</ref>

Previously, Canonical sent local file search queries to their own servers, which were used to recommend ads on [[Amazon]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stallman |first=Richard |title=Ubuntu Spyware: What to do? |url=https://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/ubuntu-spyware-what-to-do |website=Free Software Foundation |date=12 Jul 2012 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250317144129/https://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/ubuntu-spyware-what-to-do |archive-date=17 Mar 2025}}</ref> In 2014, this feature was removed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hoffman |first=Chris |title=Ubuntu’s Unity 8 desktop will remove the Amazon search ‘spyware’ |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/436097/ubuntus-unity-8-desktop-removes-the-amazon-search-spyware.html |website=PCWorld |date=29 Oct 2014 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250311164248/https://www.pcworld.com/article/436097/ubuntus-unity-8-desktop-removes-the-amazon-search-spyware.html |archive-date=11 Mar 2025}}</ref>

In 2018, telemetry tracking for hardware components, software configuration, and crashes were added in an opt-out model.<ref>{{Cite web |author=allo |title=How to opt-out usage data collection in Ubuntu 18.04 (bionic)? |url=https://superuser.com/questions/1311588/how-to-opt-out-usage-data-collection-in-ubuntu-18-04-bionic |website=superuser |date=6 Apr 2018 |access-date=24 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406230212/https://superuser.com/questions/1311588/how-to-opt-out-usage-data-collection-in-ubuntu-18-04-bionic |archive-date=6 Apr 2018}}</ref>

===Ad for Ubuntu Pro when using APT (''2022—'')===
[[File:Ubuntu terminal ad for Pro.png|thumb|alt=Running APT update in the terminal shows an ad for Ubuntu Pro.|Running APT update in the terminal shows an ad for Ubuntu Pro.]]
In September 2022, Canonical started adding opt-out<ref>{{Cite web |author=Scotty_Trees |title=How to get rid of Ubuntu Pro advertisement when updating apt? |url=https://askubuntu.com/questions/1434512/how-to-get-rid-of-ubuntu-pro-advertisement-when-updating-apt |website=Ask Ubuntu |date=9 Oct 2022 |access-date=24 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009180059/https://askubuntu.com/questions/1434512/how-to-get-rid-of-ubuntu-pro-advertisement-when-updating-apt |archive-date=9 Oct 2022}}</ref> ads for their Ubuntu Pro service when using APT.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sneddon |first=Joey |title=Ubuntu's New Terminal 'Ad' is Angering Users |url=https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2022/10/ubuntu-pro-terminal-ad |website=OMG! Ubuntu |date=26 Jan 2023 |access-date=24 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013141920/https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2022/10/ubuntu-pro-terminal-ad |archive-date=13 Oct 2022}}</ref>

==Products==
*Ubuntu
*Snapcraft

==See also==
[[Systemd adds age indication ahead of schedule]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Software companies]]
[[Category:Linux]]