I remember the first time I used Linux and Ubuntu. My mentor taught me a lot, including how to install software using the terminal. I don't remember if I asked him or if he told me on his own, but he warned me that I wouldn't see anything when I entered my password. That's the case in most Linux distributions, but it will change in Canonical's system this April, coinciding with the release of Ubuntu 26.04 Resolute Raccoon.
The reason nothing is displayed when entering the password is for security: if someone counts the characters, they can get a clue as to what might be underneath. In Questing Quokka, sudo was replaced with a Rust-based implementation called sweat-rsIt is their developers who have made the decision themselves show the asterisksAs seen in the header screenshot, they believe the security benefit of not displaying anything is minimal, and that seeing something is more helpful to the user. Canonical, for its part, has decided to implement this change.
Ubuntu 26.04, sudo-rs and asterisks
This change probably won't please everyone equally, but that's just a matter of perspective. For example, Linux Mint decided to make this change on its own, and nothing bad has happened. Personally, I don't really care: if they're not there, it's the behavior I've become accustomed to. If they are, then great.
From my point of view, whether or not there are asterisks makes little difference to the user. It's very common for us to enter our passwords as if it were a single, effortless action: if we get it right, we press enter, but if we make even the slightest mistake, we delete everything; we don't count asterisks to try and pinpoint where the error might be.
But it is a striking change. Ubuntu has gone more than two decades without showing anything, and starting this April, asterisks will be visible.
If someone wants to restore the old behavior, all they have to do is open /etc/sudoers and add Defaults !pwfeedback to the file.