EXT4 deprecates its data=journal mode and plans to remove it in early 2028

On October 8, 2026, the Linux 7.3 Git merge deprecated EXT4’s data=journal mode, which writes file data and metadata to the journal before committing them, with removal scheduled for early 2028. Check your mount options in /etc/fstab: if you don’t enable data=journal explicitly, this deprecation does not affect you.