Users of popular free editing software Audacity are raising concerns over its latest update. According to a privacy notice published on the official website earlier this week, Audacity reserves the right to collect “data necessary for law enforcement, litigation and authorities’ requests” – with no clear outlines on what data this would actually include.
It appears to be the vague language used in the updated privacy notice that has users so worried, as it puts no clear restrictions on what could be handed over to law enforcement, or even what information Audacity is sitting on should it be requested. Users have taken to various subreddits to voice their concerns, as many encourage others to delete the software to protect their privacy.
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This lack of clarification is curious, as data collected for other purposes is clearly explained elsewhere in the same polciy. Audacity is transparent about collecting information on a user’s IP address, operating system, and CPU in order to improve the app’s performance. Yet in the section about legal action, it simply says it will collect whatever is “necessary”.
Looking at similar privacy statements, it isn’t uncommon for companies to collect data needed to potentially defend themselves against legal claims and to comply with local laws. However, these policies appear to often explain scenarios this would be required of them, rather than the non-specific language used with Audacity.
Audacity is an immensely popular service, with a reported 110 million downloads between 2015 and 2021 alone. Combined with the fact that the software has been available since 2000, it’s likely found its way onto millions more devices than that most recent estimate.
However, this recent controversy comes around the same time of its recent acquisition by Muse Group. As of April 2021, the company had taken over the development of the software.
Outside of this dispute, recent changes to the application had been met positively. The recent version 3.0 update was lauded for its numerous bug fixes, and for giving the app much needed upgrades for the first time in nine years.
Audacity has been contacted for comment regarding the privacy policy update.