Products · Product
Snap packages
Raised as a usability problem by 190 people on Hacker News over 10 years (2017–2026), in 117 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
- 1Snap apps are slow to start and useUnreviewed
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- 1Snap apps are slow to start and useUnreviewed
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Every issue, all time, most people first
Snap apps are slow to start and useUnreviewed
20172026- Snap apps silently fail to access files on media drives without any error2026-04-24
- Snap apps are so slow they are practically unusable on older computers2025-06-30
- Snap randomly kills running apps without warning2025-06-30
Snap asks to close app to update, often can't update anywayUnreviewed
20172026- Snap forces closing running apps like Firefox before updating, with frequent update prompts2026-10-15
- Nags to close open apps for updates, then updates silently fail with no feedback2026-05-03
- Constant update notifications force closing of running software, creating a frustrating interruption2025-08-27
New users struggle to find non-snap Firefox and end up with slow snapUnreviewed
20172026- Firefox only installable as snap; old snap versions filled the drive until recently2026-09-16
- Snap Firefox doesn't use hardware acceleration, making it barely usable2026-01-04
- Ubuntu silently reinstalls the Firefox snap after the user removes it and installs their own version2025-10-21
Snaps only access hardcoded paths, blocking data on other mountsUnreviewed
20172026- Snaps only access hardcoded paths, so data on other mounts needs a workaround2023-11-10
- Snap-installed Firefox and KeePass extension don't work together due to container isolation2023-11-10
- Snap clutters mounts, runs a daemon and forces ~/snap, requiring constant cleanup2023-03-30
Visible snap directory clutters tools and file dialogsUnreviewed
20172026- Snap apps have broken features and a confusing file picker default path2024-10-21
- Snap and Flatpak apps can't see files outside the home directory, like mounted RAID drives2023-11-22
- Snap Firefox saves into a hidden path inside the snap and file dialog handoff is broken2023-08-11
Snap migration causes version pinning and file system problemsUnreviewed
20172026- Overlapping snap installs cause confusing mixed states and wrong file locations2025-10-15
- Packages migrated to snaps cause version pinning and file system problems2021-11-13
- Snaps are not clearly usable outside Ubuntu, despite being called universal2019-02-03
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Snap forces closing running apps like Firefox before updating, with frequent update prompts2026-10-15
- Firefox only installable as snap; old snap versions filled the drive until recently2026-09-16
- Newer blocks show a help menu option, but nothing pops up when selected2026-09-11
- Nags to close open apps for updates, then updates silently fail with no feedback2026-05-03
- Snap apps silently fail to access files on media drives without any error2026-04-24
- Snap is frustrating to use and buggy, and some CLI tools can't be installed with apt2026-04-02
- Mother is confused by how snap packages behave across multiple user accounts2026-03-02
- Snap Firefox doesn't use hardware acceleration, making it barely usable2026-01-04
- Ubuntu silently reinstalls the Firefox snap after the user removes it and installs their own version2025-10-21
- Overlapping snap installs cause confusing mixed states and wrong file locations2025-10-15
- Naive users delete the ~/snap folder, which silently breaks their snap installation2025-10-07
- Constant update notifications force closing of running software, creating a frustrating interruption2025-08-27
- Snap randomly kills running apps without warning2025-06-30
- Snap apps are so slow they are practically unusable on older computers2025-06-30
- Random password popups give no indication of what or why admin access is needed2025-06-29
- Opening the calculator takes 10-15 seconds while snap downloads and mounts layers2025-04-22
- Having two competing package managers (apt and snap) is annoying to deal with2025-03-04
- Snap Docker takes minutes to shut down on every reboot2025-02-05
- Snap packages are cumbersome enough to drive the commenter away from Ubuntu2025-02-05
- Snaps are infuriating to work with, according to the commenter2025-02-05
- Snaps cause unpredictable issues and add unwanted complexity for newcomers2024-12-23
- Constant popups demanding app closure, forced background updates crashing running apps, pinned dock icons breaking2024-12-23
- Snap apps have broken features and a confusing file picker default path2024-10-21
- Can't find where snap packages moved their configuration files, documentation missing2024-08-31
- Snap packages are incredibly slow to use, unusably so2024-07-11
- Snap sandboxing breaks hardware and config access, and finding a normal .deb install is a fight2024-06-25
- Snap apps won't let user browse files; hours of searching, required config change didn't work2024-06-12
- Snap apps behave in ways users find counterintuitive2024-05-16
- Snap store search hangs indefinitely and never returns results2024-05-04
- Snap-installed apps are buggy and broken for the user2024-05-04
- Snap apps break in unexpected ways for users2024-03-07
- Update prompt asks user to close Firefox, but nothing happens afterward2024-01-23
- Firefox snap takes forever to load2024-01-15
- Snap apps start very slowly and updates are forced on users2024-01-09
- Snap apps must be closed before they can update, with repeated prompts to do so2024-01-08
- Snap updates automatically and disrupt the current browsing session, making it hard to manage2024-01-06
- Snap apps start very slowly and themes don't apply correctly compared to non-snap versions2024-01-05
- Installing from Snapcraft fails or struggles on limited, unreliable bandwidth2024-01-05
- Firefox silently redirects to snap, breaking extensions and the user's install choice2023-12-13
- Chromium snap keeps reinstalling cups even after deletion, with no way to stop it2023-11-23
- Snap and Flatpak apps can't see files outside the home directory, like mounted RAID drives2023-11-22
- Snap apps open with no visible feedback, so users can't tell if they're loading or have failed2023-11-13
- Snaps only access hardcoded paths, so data on other mounts needs a workaround2023-11-10
- Snap-installed Firefox and KeePass extension don't work together due to container isolation2023-11-10
- Snap apps fail to start with no error message, forcing manual CLI runs to diagnose2023-11-10
- Snap version is painfully slow to open and sluggish in general2023-11-01
- Installed snap packages run into weird issues, forcing users to uninstall them2023-11-01
- Strict password rules, forced expiry, and lockout after three failed tries force a phone call2023-10-24
- Snap client gets stuck in a loop saying it is out of date and cannot update itself2023-09-08
- Snap updates require closing the app, but the updater gives no friendly way to do it2023-08-25