Audacity classed as spyware

[Captain Gecko]

Summary

Audacity, a free audio recording software that is currently used by millions, has been call out as spyware in a recent report. It's new privacy policy changes, that were updated June 2nd, have revealed the software is collecting user data and sharing it with whoever they like, including sending the data to Russia. 

Muse purchased Audacity in May

The list of data collected includes:
Users country (based on IP address)

Non-fatal error codes
Users OS and version
Processor in use

edit:
The changes will come into affect with Audacity 3.0
 

 

 

Quotes

Quote

"Audacity, the well-known open-source audio-editing software, has been called spyware in a report, with privacy policy changes revealing the tool is collecting data on its users and sharing it with other firms, as well as sending the data to Russia."

 

My thoughts

This is why we can't have nice things, Luckily we have a decent community of people developing a fork of 2.0. 

 

Sources

https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/07/04/open-source-audacity-deemed-spyware-over-data-collection-changes

[Anghammarad]

They already rowed back quite a bit from gathering data one or two weeks ago... maybe three, because of the s**tstorm it did turn lose. 

 

If they are back on "hey we gather data" they changed their meinds quite quickly a second time.

[Captain Gecko]

5 minutes ago, Anghammarad said:

They already rowed back quite a bit from gathering data one or two weeks ago... maybe three, because of the s**tstorm it did turn lose. 

 

If they are back on "hey we gather data" they changed their meinds quite quickly a second time.

this is from there latest privacy policy which was updated AFTER they said they were not going to, lol. 

[akio123008]

I'm guessing this applies to the latest version then? I mean I'm still using whatever version I downloaded 6 years ago.

[Captain Gecko]

5 minutes ago, akio123008 said:

I'm guessing this applies to the latest version then? I mean I'm still using whatever version I downloaded 6 years ago.

Yeah, sorry forgot to put that in the post, it's from version 3.0, current release is 2.0

[SorryBella]

39 minutes ago, Sniperpaul296 said:

Luckily we have a decent community of people developing a fork of 2.0. 

Got a source to the fork?

[Captain Gecko]

2 minutes ago, SorryClaire said:

Got a source to the fork?

https://github.com/cookiengineer/audacity

[PeachGr]

I use it since (I think) 2005. It knows me more than I know me apparently

[AlTech]

Audacity isn't spyware though. This is just a bunch of people on reddit upset that the Audacity devs are allowing opt-in telemetry cos Audacity needs to have error reporting info.

[Kadzo]

Again proven over and over again that there are no free stuff so you have to pay it somehow, is by money or with your personal data that`s up to you.

[Gamer4714]

You can just block the app from accessing your internet. You can block the internet  connection for the app in firewall. Or use an old release.

[jagdtigger]

48 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

error reporting

That does not need to include any personal info though.....

[mr moose]

1 hour ago, akio123008 said:

I'm guessing this applies to the latest version then? I mean I'm still using whatever version I downloaded 6 years ago.

Me too,I'm on 2.3.2,  The testimony to audacity is that (as a make believe producer/sound tech) even when I have the option to use audacity, goldwave, soundforge, premier, Reaper, FL studio, or pro tools, I often find myself on the older audacity more than one would expect.

[Sauron]

2 hours ago, Sniperpaul296 said:

The list of data collected includes:
Users country (based on IP address)

Non-fatal error codes
Users OS and version
Processor in use

Wow, such sensitive data... the only potentially identifying information would be the IP address and the devs have stated this is only stored for a single day and not shared with other entities.

 

Also this is opt-in, meaning disabled by default, so can we please stop with the senseless outrage? Do we really need a fork just to remove opt in telemetry and then just leech off the main project for feature updates anyway?

1 hour ago, Gamer4714 said:

You can just block the app from accessing your internet. You can block the internet  connection for the app in firewall. Or use an old release.

Or just not opt in.

[WolframaticAlpha]

So when is audiovillage, the open source alternative free of audacity-spyware coming?

 

This is the benefit of FOSS. You can create a fork and continue working on it, like nothing ever changed

[Arika]

2 hours ago, Sniperpaul296 said:

Users country (based on IP address)

Non-fatal error codes
Users OS and version
Processor in use

oh no...how dare they.....

 

are people stupid?

 

 

2 hours ago, Sniperpaul296 said:

as well as sending the data to Russia

i will never understand why this is always called out specifically. Why is data being sent to Russia any worse than being sent to any other country?

 

especially for such basic data.

[whispous]

44 minutes ago, Arika S said:

oh no...how dare they.....

 

are people stupid?

 

 

i will never understand why this is always called out specifically. Why is data being sent to Russia any worse than being sent to any other country?

 

especially for such basic data.

That and they could just... direct it to a euro/US server and then send it onwards, cloaking it's Russian destination.

 

This whole "Russia/China" digital data scare tactic is just propaganda to make sure we all know who the "enemy" is.

 

In reality, the US and UK are spying just as much as Russia is - they're all being dickheads to humanity.

[Murasaki]

2 hours ago, mr moose said:

Me too,I'm on 2.3.2,  The testimony to audacity is that (as a make believe producer/sound tech) even when I have the option to use audacity, goldwave, soundforge, premier, Reaper, FL studio, or pro tools, I often find myself on the older audacity more than one would expect.

Got 2.3.2 too! Downloaded in late 2019 been sitting as a portable install since then, no plans on updating it because why would you.

[AlTech]

3 hours ago, jagdtigger said:

That does not need to include any personal info though.....

And it doesn't minus the IP address which

@Sauron

Already debunked as saying it's disposed of after 1 day.

 

This is completely normal telemetry to collect and will help the developer identify issues before they cause problems for users.

 

But most importantly, this is OPT IN. You have to affirmatively agree to have this data collected otherwise it doesn't happen. I don't know how you can make telemetry more private than that.

[AlTech]

3 hours ago, Kadzo said:

Again proven over and over again that there are no free stuff so you have to pay it somehow, is by money or with your personal data that`s up to you.

In the case of open source software that's not always true.

 

In this case it isn't. All the collected data is to help developers make a better product which in this case is audacity.

[piratemonkey]

5 hours ago, Sniperpaul296 said:

The changes will come into affect with Audacity 3.0

That is an important detail. Thankfully as Audacity is open source, people have forked the current version which won't have the tracking

https://github.com/cookiengineer/audacity for version 2.4

[Quackers101]

2 hours ago, James Evens said:

simple and old ideology:

Russia = bad

China = the worst/devil

America = perfect

western countries = okay ish

yes and no, also how most people have just been going with and becoming complicit to some of these companies that are from such regions.
 

Spoiler

 

Feeling better when it's all funneled through the "right" people, or to sides like google etc. (google ads or all the collecting they will do "no matter what")

As in one way or another, google and other big brands is going to be there for the services you use, but like you say, could push back a lot, a lot more.

Then again would never accept facebook account for VR though, or fitness nonsense tracking deluxe.

Also that some of this information would be used differently, although sure, we don't know if other countries would sell this info to russia or china anyways making it all a bit mute.

 

It would be nice if one had more of a say towards some of the american companies, either it being google, facebook or microsoft with their big services like windows that is so commonly used or google services used in so many other applications. sadly as with how I read EULA, see how often it's not made to care about privacy or going around certain issues and just to stay out of "legal trouble". not sure about GDPR though, and how much its in effect and allows to blocking or just window dressing for having an "option". From around games, with DRM's, malware/spyware used, cheat engines doing more than you would like. To how bad server protection might be or other information, EA or others with their data collection and how can we trust their server handling certain information and data leaks.

 

 

[poochyena]

Considering its open source, I don't think its too big of a deal. Its good people are made aware of the changes, but its not like it forces updates or anything, so, meh.

6 hours ago, Arika S said:

Why is data being sent to Russia any worse than being sent to any other country?

because they have large scale, government funded, troll farms and cyber attacks? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberwarfare_by_Russia

read the news every once and a while

[RoseLuck462]

Very shady 

[Roswell]

So in other words, they’re collecting anonymous crash logs if you opt in. 
 

The horror!