If you use Ubuntu’s Unity desktop, then you must have noticed the small mail-icon that’s displayed on the top menu-bar (to the right side). It’s real name is “indicator-messages” and is sort of a simple “command center” that lets you control some of the functions of Gwibber (microblogging client), Empathy (the default chat client) and few other internet-messaging related applications that come with Ubuntu.
For instance, you can set-up your e-mail account via Thunderbird and when you have new mails, it’ll display small and somewhat less distracting notifications. Or, you can change your online “status” (available, invisible, away etc) of some of the chat clients using this indicator-menu. So yes, it is a handy feature.
However, like me, if you too don’t use these programs, then by removing the “indicator-messages” package, can benefit you in two ways.
First of all, it kinda help to simplify/unclutter the top menu bar. And secondly (most importantly), even if you don’t use it, still, “indicator-messages” runs as an OS service (from the background) consuming your PC’s resources (memory and occasional CPU wake-ups). And in my Ubuntu 12.04 PC, it used about 1.7MB of RAM.
If you don’t use it, then perhaps you’re better off without it ;-).
To get rid of it, enter the below command in your Terminal window (should work in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot, 12.04 Precise Pangolin).
sudo apt-get autoremove indicator-messages
For the changes to take effect, logout and re-login. But I think it’s better to restart the PC, so the background process will be fully removed from the system.
Ho to get it back?
Well, once you’ve removed it, you can never have it back, unless you re-install Ubuntu! (kidding :D).
If you want it back, then simply enter the below command to re-install it.
sudo apt-get install indicator-messages
Make sure to logout and then re-login for the changes to take effect. That’s it!.
17 Comments
Thanks, it helped.
You are welcome :).
thank you
No problem :).
Hello,
how can I
ONLY remove the statuses Available… Offline
BUT keep the envelope since I use the notification with unity-mail?
Thanks!
Hi ‘Thomas’,
I don’t have a lot of experience with ‘indicator-messages’ (obviously, that’s why wanted to remove it, LOL), however, according to this official ‘indicator-message WiKi page, those menu items (available, away, busy …) will only go away if there are no chat clients associated with ‘indicator-messages’.
By default, Ubuntu comes with ‘Empathy’ & ‘Gwibber’, and as they are assigned with ‘indicator-messages’, ‘Available, Away, Busy …’ menu items appear.
So the only way to remove those menu items is to ‘blacklist’ (again, according to that WiKi page) those programs, in a certain configuration file of ‘indicator-messages’.
I don’t know if this will do the trick, as for somereason in Ubuntu 12.10, the ‘indicator-messages’ doesn’t appear in my computer by default (oh well, great!!) but you can try the below trick.
But please remember, if you use any of those tools (‘Empathy’, ‘Gwibber’), or any other messaging client, then unless you disable the ‘indicator-messages’ integration from the chat clients individually, you cannot remove those menu items.
Anyway, here it goes …
Step 1:
Open your Terminal window and enter the below command.
Step 2:
Now enter the below command.
Then restart your computer, and if those were the only chat apps that you had, then those menu items might be disabled from now on. Hope this helps.
If you encounter any issues, just throw in a comment. Good luck.
Thanks for the tip. That really helped. 🙂
You are welcome! :).
Worked for me, thank you very, very much!
You’re welcome.
thanks alot for the tips/tutorial. great job.
You’re welcome.
Hello Gayan,
thanks for your answer (one year ago already).
Unfortunately your hint didn’t work out for me.
I have no Gwibber and no Empathy installed at all.
I have Unity Mail running as start up application which indicator is below the chat statuses.
Maybe this is the reason why it didn’t work out for me.
The chat statuses are still there – even after reboot.
Thanks,
Thomas
Finally THIS worked:
http://askubuntu.com/questions/185021/how-to-remove-or-hide-chat-status-icons-from-messaging-menu
But it is a long way to get there and it installs more than 80 MB packages on your system!
Hi Thomas,
Yes, this re-compiles the ‘indicator-messages’ with the added changes and those packages (around 80MB) are the necessities for re-compiling it. I also don’t know if the chat-status removal can be achieved any other way.
P.S – Sorry about the late response (have been busy in the real life 🙂 ).
Hello,
no prob!
Didn’t get a notification about your answer either.
:).