This page contains the complete and expanded version of the tutorial shown in my video. Here you will find the full step-by-step procedure, explained clearly and in detail, tested on a fresh default installation of Ubuntu 26.04 Resolute Raccoon.
Ubuntu without Snap is now possible. Tested. Confirmed. This guide shows you exactly how.
⚠️ DISCLAIMER
This procedure was tested on a fresh default installation of Ubuntu 26.04. Results on Ubuntu 24.04 should be similar, but behaviour may vary. The Firefox installation from the Mozilla Team PPA installs Firefox ESR on Ubuntu 26.04 — not the current stable release. Always back up your data before running system-level commands. Think before you paste. Do not trust anyone blindly, not even me.
Snap is not an application on Ubuntu. It is infrastructure. And understanding the difference is everything.
An application you install, remove, replace. Infrastructure is the ground everything else is built on. Canonical has progressively embedded Snap deeper into Ubuntu with every release:
The Firefox .deb package in Ubuntu's repositories is not the browser. It is a transition package with version 1:1snap1-0ubuntu2 — an artificially high epoch number that makes it always appear "newer" than any PPA alternative. This caused snapd to reinstall itself automatically on every upgrade. That is why every attempt to remove Snap used to fail.
On Ubuntu 26.04, this is no longer the case. The combination of apt purge snapd, apt-mark hold, and the Mozilla Team PPA now works reliably. There was no official announcement. It happened in silence.
Snap is not just a philosophical problem. It is a documented security risk. The following CVEs have been tracked against snapd:
These vulnerabilities exist precisely because of Snap's centralised, privileged architecture. The Snap Store backend is closed-source and exclusively controlled by Canonical. Unlike Flatpak — which is federated by design — Snap routes everything through a single point of control.
References: USN-5292-1 · CVE-2026-3888 · Full CVE list
sudo apt purge snapdThis removes snapd and everything that depends on it. All Snap packages are removed automatically. On a clean Ubuntu 26.04 installation, apt purge snapd handles all dependencies without requiring manual removal of individual snaps — a significant improvement over previous releases.
⚠️ If you have data in any Snap application, back it up before running this command.
sudo apt-mark hold snapdThis tells apt to never reinstall snapd automatically. Without this step, certain package operations could bring it back silently.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mozillateam/ppa
sudo apt updateThis adds the repository that contains Firefox as a native DEB package, maintained by Mozilla Team contributors. On Ubuntu 26.04, this PPA provides Firefox ESR.
Note: If you try sudo apt install firefox without this step, you will get the transition package — the wrapper that calls Snap. Ubuntu's repositories only have Firefox in Snap format.
sudo rm /etc/apparmor.d/usr.bin.firefox
sudo rm /etc/apparmor.d/local/usr.bin.firefoxThese profiles are tied to the Snap version of Firefox and work in combination with GNOME. Leaving them in place will interfere with the native DEB installation.
sudo systemctl stop var-snap-firefox-common-host\x2dhunspell.mount
sudo systemctl disable var-snap-firefox-common-host\x2dhunspell.mountThis service is tied to the Firefox Snap. Stopping and disabling it clears the path for the native installation.
sudo apt install firefoxFirefox installs as a native DEB package, directly from the Mozilla Team PPA, with no Snap involved.
On Ubuntu 26.04 this installs Firefox ESR — stable, secure, fully maintained, but not the current leading-edge release. For most users this makes no practical difference.
Chromium on Ubuntu remains effectively locked to Snap. Unlike Firefox, there is no official PPA or Mozilla-equivalent repository providing Chromium as a reliable native DEB for Ubuntu 26.04. Third-party sources exist but have not been tested and cannot be recommended here.
If you need a Chromium-based browser without Snap, the cleanest option is Google Chrome directly from Google's official repository:
wget -q https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb
sudo apt install ./google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb
rm google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.debThis procedure also works for any other package Ubuntu provides only as Snap. The most common case after Firefox is Thunderbird — follow the same PPA approach using ppa:mozillateam/ppa.
Once snapd is removed, the Snap Store is gone. You need an alternative package manager.
The best graphical package manager in existence. Simple, fast, precise.
sudo apt install synapticMore modern interface, Flatpak support built in.
sudo apt install plasma-discoversudo apt install gnome-software gnome-software-plugin-flatpak
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepoThousands of applications available via Flathub, without Snap, without Canonical in the middle.
Confirm snapd is gone:
snap versionExpected output: bash: snap: command not found
Confirm Firefox is running as a native DEB:
apt policy firefoxThe output should show the Mozilla Team PPA as the source, not the Ubuntu repository.
Confirm snapd is held:
apt-mark showholdYou should see snapd in the list.
Ubuntu without Snap is real. It works. It stays working through system updates. The advantages are not minor: no centralised closed-source store, no automatic updates you did not request, no privilege escalation surface from snapd, faster browser startup, less disk usage.
If you absolutely must use Ubuntu, at least do it without Snap. Now you can.
Use it with care, understand each step, and never copy commands blindly. Think before you paste.
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