- Snap cannot be avoided in Ubuntu. Key parts of UI are or will be delivered as snaps.
- Snap uses SquashFS, that is optimized for small size, not fast extract speed.
- Snap share some functionality via other core snaps, but overall files can be repeated on each snap and include files to run in all platforms, resulting in more space needed in device.
- The location where snaps are and key folder locations cannot be changed by user.
- Snap keeps a unique machine id and unique per snap cookies that are used to collect statistics and identify same instance, even after remove and reinstall of the snap. User has not control over that.
- Snap store collects geo-location data based on IP and install and usage information based on machine id and cookie ids.
- Snap uses loop devices, a lot of them (all revisions are mounted). UI tools are being patched to hide them, but gnu tools such as df look messy.
- Snap daemon and server are closed source.
- Currently old revisions are not removed.
- Manual remove does not remove snapshots and config unless --purge is used.
- Cache and config folders as seen by a snap application cannot be changed or pointed to other locations.
- Users can connect or disconnect plugs that are already defined in a snap, but cannot add new ones.
- Snap updates cannot be avoided.
- System misleads users by making it confusing to know what is deb and what is snap.
- Many snaps do not really work. They expect something that is different in my machine. I tried rclone snap, ended up installing it manually.
- Many snaps have old versions of software, people did them once to have them apper in store and do not maintain them anymore. Users will be forced to leave away security of deb packages in official repos, and install things manually on their own.
- Some snaps due to limitations have limitations in functionality. For example, gimp snap cannot start xsane anymore.
- I have no doubt that snaps are checked by Ubuntu team for security, but as user I have no way to check that and there are many snaps that have both :home and :network interfaces enabled, although :network is not needed. Especially snaps from "Snapcrafters" are somehow liberal on plugs combinations they allow.
- As other have notes, snapcraft.io is hard to use to find things.
- The only winner I think of Chromium browser being a snap is Google. We are forced to install Google Chrome directly as that is the easiest alternative that works. Ubuntu could better decided not provide it than make it a snap.
- I tried Chromium snap and my Gnome mouse cursor does not work there. I read in some Ubuntu snap forum entry the fixing that (using user themes) is against the idea of snap running same in all systems. I do not care about that, I only care they respect my UI theme.
- The snap sandbox is not a complete sandbox. Snaps still see XWindow data, and other variables and memory. The main security behind snaps does not come from the sandbox, but from review of Ubuntu security team. A non-transparent process done by few people.
- These being said, if I want to run or test some app quickly and not mess the system, snap is a choice, but forcing it over users without having a choice, will increase the risks uses have to take to figure out alternative installs for all cases where snaps do not work for the user needs.