Background apps

[diogopessoa]

Problem

The background apps functionality in Quick Settings Indicator addresses the lack of support for legacy tray icons, which are used by applications like Skype and Telegram to indicate background activities. Many modern apps no longer use these icons and lack adequate ways to inform users that they are running, leading to confusion, particularly in categories like email clients, social media, and cloud synchronization.

Proposal

The system introduces a functionality that displays information about running background applications only when necessary, improving usability and providing greater clarity for users. Furthermore, the inclusion of an option to close background apps directly through the interface enhances control and convenience, allowing users to easily manage active processes.

Prior Art (Optional)

example of how gnome implemented it:

[diogopessoa]

The idea of background apps reminds me of something moving beneath the surface of the water, like in the sea. It’s not immediately visible, but when we 'dive' into the water, we can see the navigators moving around.

With this idea, I took some icon suggestions for background apps:

• submarine underwater
  

• submarine only
  

• fish underwater
  

[diogopessoa]

In fact, there is already an icon for "background apps" that can be seen in System Settings - Applications. It makes a lot of sense for the proposal!

[teamcons]

I feel like this could be an indicator in its own right.
That would keep everything clean and focused instead of dumping more in quick settings, and allow extending easily that part of the system as more comes up.

On a personal note i like the submarine. The little ghost is cute, and is starting to be seen as the standard because gnome did it first, so not sure how free we would be doing a sub instead ?

[alainm23]

I think the same, I believe we had a privacy indicator that was never released, maybe it could go there.

[teamcons]

It would definitively fit together, as some kind of "what app do what" indicator

App using the camera
-camera
App running in the background
-pcloud
-music

im not sure how we could call it. "control indicator" ?

what does gnome use to check for background app ?
I think it relies on some flatpak thingie. Since it is the main distribution method on eOS and the focus of the DE, it would suit to rely on it too

if it is lowskill, easy enough to do, i could do it