How to Disable Apport Error Reporting in Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

Ubuntu comes preloaded with a program named apport which automatically generate error reporting. It helps Canonical develop better software for the user.

Today, I was installing LEMP stack on my local Ubuntu 16.04 machine. An error occurred during the Nginx installation and a window pops up telling me that system program problem detected.

I already knew where the problem is and how to fix it. It’s because Apache web server is installed and running on my Ubuntu 16.04 box so Nginx can’t use port 80. To fix this issue, I just have to stop Apache web server and install Nginx again.

sudo systemctl stop apache2

Disable Apport Error Reporting

There are so many Ubuntu desktop users out there. Often times, your problem has already been reported. And sometimes, like in my case, you already know how to fix the problem. So there’s really no need for you to report again to Ubuntu developers.

To disable error reporting on Ubuntu 16.04, fire up a terminal window (CTRL+ALT+T) and run the following command to open the apport configuration file.

sudo nano /etc/default/apport

You will see a line enabled=1. To disable error reporting, change the value of enabled from 1 to 0.

Press CTRL+O to save the file. CTRL+X to exit out of the file. And you are done! You won’t see error pop up any more!

You may also want to disable the apport service.

sudo systemctl disable apport

Or completely remove apport program from your system.

sudo apt purge apport

Enable Apport Error Reporting

If for any reason you want to enable the reporting service, run:

sudo apt install apport

sudo systemctl start apport

And then make sure the value of enabled is set to 1 in /etc/default/apport configuration file.

Check Error Reports Sent from Your Ubuntu System

Go to System Settings > security & Privacy > Diagnostics. Click Show Previous Reports.

You will be taken to a Ubuntu website page which contains all errors reports sent from your Ubuntu system.

That’s it! I hope this article helped you disable or enable Ubuntu bug report. As always, if you found this post useful, then subscribe to our free newsletter or follow us on Google+, Twitter or like our Facebook page. Thanks for visiting!