In their monthly blog post, the Linux Mint team has revealed that an upcoming update to the Software Manager will disable Flatpaks by default.

Flatpaks are a popular method of releasing software for Linux that has some advantages over traditional packages. For example, many Linux distros—think Debian, Ubuntu, openSUSE Leap—prioritize stability over having the absolute latest versions of software. As a result, the software available in a distro’s repositories may lag behind until the distro is updated to the next major version.

Flatpak solves this by bundling all necessary libraries and dependencies with the app, rather than relying on the dependencies and libraries offered by the distro. This provides a way to run the latest and greatest software on virtually any Linux distro, even the stable-release ones.

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Flatpaks are not necessarily built by the developer of the original program. Many Flatpaks are built and maintained by third-party developers who take a copy of the original application and bundle it as a Flatpak. While the Flatpak team has done a good job of moderating submissions to the main Flathub repository—and these third-party volunteer developers are motivated by good intentions in the VAST majority of cases—there’s no denying that this approach does pose certain risks. The Flatpak team uses a Verified/Unverified checkmark system to help users identify apps maintained by the original developer, or by a developer they approve of, as the team describes on the site:

Some apps have a checkmark on the app page under the developer name. This means the app is published on Flathub by its original developer or a third party approved by the developer.

Some apps are published by third parties that are unaffiliated with the original developer. This is allowed, but such apps are not eligible for the checkmark.

To address those risks, especially for newer users, the Mint team has decided to disable unverified Flatpak support in Software Manager by default, although the setting can be changed:

Unverified Flatpaks are disabled by default.

A warning explains the security risks associated with them in the newly added preferences window.

Flatpaks will also show their Verified/Unverified status in the Software Manager, a welcome improvement over the existing version.

The Linux Mint Software Manager is one of the best available in the Linux ecosystem. This update will help make it even better and help keep users safe.