linuxmint / linuxmint/mintinstall
OBS Studio flatpak auto-launches silently after install, recording desktop without user consent
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- Dominant language
- Python
- Stars
- 181
- Forks
- 116
- PR merge metrics
- No merged PRs in 30d
Description
I installed OBS Studio on January 24th, 2025 via the software manager. I found a video in my videos folder from that date, where OBS started recording my desktop immediately after installation without opening the GUI or me pressing Start Recording, after I had downloaded it, and this video was saved in my Videos folder. On the video itself, i can see the OBS GUI having the Start Recording button still clickable, and i hadn't clicked it. The recording file kept growing until system shutdown. I confirmed logs ~/.var/app/com.obsproject.Studio/config/obs-studio/logs/ match the timeline (however don't have those logs to upload because I already deleted the flatpak version entirely). system journal had no entries about OBS running at the time, and flatpak permissions for OBS included devices=all, filesystems=host, x11, wayland, pulseaudio
Contributor guide
No contributing guide indexed for this repository
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by reproducing the OBS Studio installation through Software Manager and inspect how the flatpak is launched. The report cites ~/.var/app/com.obsproject.Studio/config/obs-studio/logs/ and flatpak permissions as useful evidence, but no repository file or test is named. Done means installation no longer starts OBS or records the desktop without an explicit user action.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- linux, python
- Domain
- desktop, security
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100