Tim Hardwick, MacRumors:

Popular open-source audio editing software Audacity is facing “spyware” allegations from users for recent privacy policy changes that suggest the desktop app is collecting user data and sharing it with third parties, including state regulators where applicable.

Audacity is a very popular audio processing app. It allows you to do things like compression, normalization and other effects, and features a rich plug-in library that serves a wide set of needs.

From the updated privacy policy page:

All your personal data is stored on our servers in the European Economic Area (EEA). However, we are occasionally required to share your personal data with our main office in Russia and our external counsel in the USA.

That’s just a sample. The open source community is not taking these changes kindly, to put it mildly.

If you wish to access, correct, update or request deletion of your Personal Data, you can do so at any time by contacting via [email protected].

Apple has set the privacy bar here by requiring apps to put up an opt-in request at first launch. Audacity goes the opposite way, hiding the opt-out in the privacy notice and requiring users to reach out, non-specifically, via email. Hmmph.