Ubuntu "Online smart scopes" are identified as a privacy concern in this UK Government Security Guidance report (currently advertised on ubuntu.com front page!): https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/412828 /End_User_Devices_Guidance_-_Ubuntu_14_04_LTS.pdf
Here is the excerpt (p. 10) By default Ubuntu has some features enabled which can be a privacy concern. To disable these features take the following steps: [...] 2. To prevent what is typed into the Dash from triggering online searches, go to System Settings, Privacy, Search, and set Include online results in Dash to disabled. Alternatively, online scopes can be disabled by executing..." So, again, the solution is simple, i.e. online smart scopes should be Off by default. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Touch seeded packages, which is subscribed to libunity in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1073114 Title: Online Smart Scopes Do Not Respect User Privacy Status in libunity package in Ubuntu: In Progress Status in unity-lens-shopping package in Ubuntu: In Progress Status in libunity source package in Quantal: Won't Fix Status in unity-lens-shopping source package in Quantal: Won't Fix Status in libunity source package in Raring: Won't Fix Status in unity-lens-shopping source package in Raring: Won't Fix Bug description: See this from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a well respected "international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization" (as described on Wikipedia): https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/10/privacy-ubuntu-1210-amazon-ads- and-data-leaks Obviously, despite some improvements that have came late in the 12.10 development cycle, there are still serious privacy concerns with the unity shopping lens. To be more precise, here are the main problems to be fixed according to EFF: - Disable "Include online search results" by default. - Explain in detail what Canonical does with search queries and IP addresses, how long it stores them, and in what circumstances it gives them to third parties. - Make the Search Results tab of the Privacy settings let users toggle on and off specific online search results, as some users might want Amazon products in their search results, but never anything from Facebook. Here is another related bug: #1055952 Direct data leaking to Amazon: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/unity-lens- shopping/+bug/1055952 ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.10 Package: unity-lens-shopping 6.8.0-0ubuntu1 Uname: Linux 3.5.6-030506-generic x86_64 NonfreeKernelModules: wl ApportVersion: 2.6.1-0ubuntu6 Architecture: amd64 Date: Tue Oct 30 06:35:38 2012 InstallationDate: Installed on 2012-02-12 (260 days ago) InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.10 "Oneiric Ocelot" - Release amd64 (20111012) MarkForUpload: True SourcePackage: unity-lens-shopping UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to quantal on 2012-09-28 (31 days ago) To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/libunity/+bug/1073114/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~touch-packages Post to : touch-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~touch-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
