Audacity , the popular open-source audio editing software , has been labeled spyware in a report , with changes to its privacy policy revealing that the tool collects user data and shares it with other companies , while also allegedly sending the data to Russia .
Audacity was acquired in May by Muse Group, a company that also controls Ultimate Guitar, MuseScore, and Tonebridge. Since the purchase of Audacity, changes have been discovered in online support documents that indicate it is being used to collect user data.
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According to Fosspost, Audacity's privacy policy page was updated on June 2, with some additions related to personal data collection – specifically, the fact that the app collects a variety of information about Mac users.
The data includes operating system and version, user country based on IP address, non-fatal error codes and messages, crash reports, and the processor used. The software collects “data necessary for law enforcement, litigation, and government requests (if any),” although it doesn’t specifically state what data is collected in these cases.
IP addresses are stored “in a recognisable manner for only one calendar day,” stored as a hash with a salt that changes daily. The hash is stored for one year before being deleted, though the company claims that the salt “is not stored in any database and cannot be retrieved after it has been changed.”
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It is argued that one day of storage is sufficient for a government entity to identify a user, with sufficient resources and legal authority.
The data is said to be stored in the European Economic Area, although the policy language also states that the company is “occasionally required to share your personal data with our head office in Russia and our external consultant in the US.”
Personal data may also be shared with a wide range of entities, including “advisors” and “potential buyers”, as well as law enforcement agencies, regulators, courts and other third parties.
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While the app was previously available for use by all ages, under the GPL license, the privacy policy also includes language that tells people under 13 “please do not use the app.” This is considered a violation of the GPL license under which Audacity is released.
Audacity is the subject of discussions on both Reddit and GitHub, as part of a new project, in an effort to stop the program from collecting data and changing its licenses.
Information source: appleinsider.com
