Audio editor Audacity denies spyware accusation

Audio-edit software Audacity has denied accusations its new privacy policy has transformed it into "possible spyware".

Its updated policy says data can be shared with its Russia-based infrastructure company, WSM, as well as regional law enforcement.

But since the updated policy was published last week, there have been angry calls from concerned users to uninstall the product or revert to an older version.

"One would not expect an offline desktop application to be collecting such data, phoning home and then handing that data to governments around the world whenever they see fit," it wrote.

The company, which bought Audacity in April, intended to release more frequent updates and wanted to alert users, Mr Ray said.

And the policy, "written by lawyers, to be understood by lawyers rather than the average person", was a requirement for any software that sent any form of information back to its creators.

The policy says Audacity collects "very limited data" about users - no "direct identifiers" such as names or contact details - and an account profile is not required.

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