Turn Off/Disable Notifications on your Ubuntu’s Lock Screen

Notifications on Ubuntu are designed to catch your attention while you are busy in some other task. The feature is, of course, helpful in reminding you if a shift of focus is needed for another task but sometimes it might become a hindrance as well. I, for example, have never been a fan of notifications displayed on my Ubuntu’s lock screen. The purpose of the lock screen is to lock out my activities from other people, so why should notifications pop up from nowhere and let them know what I am up to. Fortunately, through a little tweak, you can tell your Ubuntu to turn off these notifications that are costing you your privacy.

In this article, we will explain how you can turn off notifications on your lock screen through the Dconf Editor.

We have run the commands and procedures mentioned in this article on a Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.

Using the Dconf Editor to Disable Lock Screen Notifications

In order to configure your notification settings through the dconf Editor, you first need to install it by running the following command in your Ubuntu Terminal:

$ sudo apt-get install dconf-editor

You can open the Terminal either through the system Dash or the Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut.

Please enter the password for sudo in case you are asked to do so as only an authorized user can install/uninstall and configure software on Ubuntu.

You can launch the Dconf Editor through the GUI by searching for it through the system Dash:

Or, launch it through the command line by entering the following command in your Terminal:

$ dconf-editor

The dconf Editor will launch, displaying the following message:

The message means that you need to be very careful while performing system configurations as it might mess up with sensitive settings and break down your system. After clicking the “I’ll be careful” button, search for “notifications” through the search button. This will display the following results:

Click on the /org/gnome/desktop/notifications folder. This will open the following view:

Try to locate the "show-in-lock-screen" slider button as shown above. This button is turned on by default which means that notifications are enabled to be displayed on your lock screen. Turn the button off and close the Dconf Editor; no more notifications will be displayed for you when you are (or aren’t) on your Ubuntu’s lock screen.

Although Dconf Editor is a very useful tool for editing system configurations, you can uninstall it through the following command whenever you need to:

$ sudo apt-get remove dconf-editor

Now, you do not need to worry about your privacy while you are away from your system!