> If you are under 13 years old, please do not use the App[1].
Is this the future of FOSS? So dystopian.
[1] https://www.audacityteam.org/about/desktop-privacy-notice/
Audacity 3.0 called spyware over data collection changes by new owner
51–60 of 75 posts
Re: Audacity 3.0 called spyware over data collection changes by new owner
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
Browser extensions with 10k users are routinely acquired as a "spying platform".
This sounds like rubbish. Any sources for this claim?
I remember reading blog posts from browser extension maintainers, at least 3 or 4 times, who spoke out about regularly being approached by shady buyers for exactly that reason. Unless they were all making things up, I'd say it may indeed be something that is happening. I don't remember the sources, but I guess you're capable of using a search engine too.
Re: Audacity 3.0 called spyware over data collection changes by new owner
#53[deleted]
Re: Audacity 3.0 called spyware over data collection changes by new owner
#54Is it like, Audacity is widely used by whistleblowers, so by tracking down its users, authorities could prevent human rights violation from being uncovered? What else are these features useful in context of “law enforcement”?
What do you mean "used by whistleblowers" ?
Re: Audacity 3.0 called spyware over data collection changes by new owner
#55While there is room for arguments whether these changes to Audacity actually constitutes spying, I believe it's rather their vague wording (and potential reach) that worries people. Rightfully so, I would say. More often than not, developments like these don't end up well. Also the relative little info there is known about this new owner (or backers) appears worrisome. Anyone knows if there is more known about this n…
> Anyone knows if there is more known about this new owner
They are a known entity (owners of the well-known Ultimate Guitar site), and their previous purchases make it clear what their likely motivation is with Audacity: to make money in a somewhat standard way among startups these days.
They are likely adding trackers so that they can sell ads within audacity and improve their ad targeting on their actual sites. They will likely add premium features to Audacity and sell some kind of subscription service. I wouldn't be surprised to see the same kind of dark patterns/false urgency that you see in the Ultimate Guitar app.
I think that people should be legitimately concerned, but their behavior is no worse than 90% of the startups discussed on HN (not to say that's a good thing, but just to give perspective)
Re: Audacity 3.0 called spyware over data collection changes by new owner
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
Who would aquire a piece of pretty niche software to use strategically as a spying platform? Is the information that can be gained really worth that much?
I don't think it's that "niche", actually. At least from my anecdata, a lot of people who want to do some basic sound editing without buying an audio editor (those are often quite expensive) at least try using Audacity at some point.
It's so niche, they'll be the only ones with that data! Sounds like a tuesday in most marketing/PR departments.
Re: Audacity 3.0 called spyware over data collection changes by new owner
#57Re: Audacity 3.0 called spyware over data collection changes by new owner
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why does crash reporting need my IP address?
One possible reason would be to "group" reports: if 95% (or even 100%) of a certain error come from a single computer then there's either a very obscure bug or something wrong with that computer. If all reports come from different computers then it's a much more serious issue. IP addresses aren't really super-reliable for this (corporate networks, ISP NAT), but many people still are under the misapprehension that the…
It seems more natural for the app to create a UUID for the purpose, then stash it in a prefs file for later use?
Re: Audacity 3.0 called spyware over data collection changes by new owner
#59While there is room for arguments whether these changes to Audacity actually constitutes spying, I believe it's rather their vague wording (and potential reach) that worries people. Rightfully so, I would say. More often than not, developments like these don't end up well. Also the relative little info there is known about this new owner (or backers) appears worrisome. Anyone knows if there is more known about this n…
> Anyone knows if there is more known about this new owner They are a known entity (owners of the well-known Ultimate Guitar site), and their previous purchases make it clear what their likely motivation is with Audacity: to make money in a somewhat standard way among startups these days. They are likely adding trackers so that they can sell ads within audacity and improve their ad targeting on their actual sites. Th…
Thank you.
It sure sounds plausible, as much as I dislike it. It's one thing to see startups involved in questionable business practices with their own/new products. Quite another seeing existing useful software be destroyed by it. Looks like all that talk about the GPL being too restrictive doesn't mean that much in practice, if stunts like these can still be pulled.
Re: Audacity 3.0 called spyware over data collection changes by new owner
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
Browser extensions with 10k users are routinely acquired as a "spying platform".
This sounds like rubbish. Any sources for this claim?
The Great Suspender:
https://github.com/greatsuspender/thegreatsuspender/issues/1...