Amazon suggestions
This page describes a deprecated feature that is no longer available on recent versions of Ubuntu.
Amazon suggestions was a controversial feature added to Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal, released in October 2012.
How the feature worked
When a user searched for a term in the desktop dash, as well as seeing results for applications, they would also be shown results for products available on Amazon.
If a user chose to purchase one of the suggested products, it generated a small amount of affiliate revenue that was then invested back into the Ubuntu project.
Rationale for its development
The rationale behind the feature was that:
- People would get recommended products that they might want to buy
- Ubuntu, a free and open source project, would get an additional source of funding to support its development
- Search could be expanded further to incorporate other sources of results of interest to Ubuntu users
Reaction from the community
Some in the Ubuntu community reacted negatively to the feature. What community members found particularly objectionable was the idea that they would be forced to see advertisements when doing routine tasks on their Ubuntu desktop.
Other operating systems have included advertisements in their Desktop search. Most notably Windows, with Microsoft indicating in July 2026 that they would remove promotional content from desktop search results.
Canonical stressed at the time that they were search results, not advertisements, that Amazon suggestions could be removed or disabled, and that other (non-Amazon) search lenses would be explored in future.
Nonetheless, in response to community feedback, the feature was later removed.