Don't update Audacity

[VinnyVideo]

https://fosspost.org/audacity-is-now-a-spyware/

Audacity was recently sold to a commercial entity, which has quickly implemented some worrisome data collection practices.

Don't update your Audacity software - if you're using any version older than 3.x, you should be safe.

[Damarioman]

It sucks that such a good audio editing tool has been corrupted in such a scummy manner.

[WasabiCatto]

For those worried about this, a fork has been created that removes all those things.

https://twitter.com/cookiengineer/status...50829?s=19

"shy guys are wall plugs confirmed" - Vitiman on Club Saturn Ex

[Parakarry]

So yeah I saw this thread and thought it sounded pretty bad. And I'm sure it is.
But I'm reading that any concerns MIGHT be overblown, and were addressed already.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/07/...t-spyware/
Though take from it what you will.
I just checked, mine is the old 2.0.1.

[VinnyVideo]

In case anyone finds this old topic from a Google search...

A while ago Audacity reversed course on the worrisome changes they announced in 2021, so Audacity should be safe to update/install in 2024.

That said, do people still use Audacity for audio editing? Do you like Audacity, or do you prefer a different tool nowadays?

Course clear! You got a card.

[littlelum]

I use it for what little audio stuff I do, mainly because I haven't heard of any other free alternatives. Plus, I don't do enough to justify searching for something else.

[Q-Nova]

Nice to hear that Audacity removed that spying feature! I don't like it when applications and websites include that stuff (unless it's opt-in, I suppose).

As for whether the program still gets used, when I made my games in the past, I used Audacity to convert MP3s to OGGs for saving space. The program was used to make the Game Over melody in Bob-Ball, as well as my entry for the first Music Competition of 2015. It's not really ideal for music making, but back then I didn't have any actual music-making tools. Also, when I ripped sound effects from id Software's PC port of SMB3, I used a sound recording tool (I believe it's a Windows pack-in) and then with the exported sound file, used Audacity to cut out the sound effects and give them their own separate files.

There's once a game I worked on (but didn't get finished), where some of the sound effects had their quality downgraded by Audacity, in part to conserve file size and also to provide a bit of that old school PC game feeling (though some of them sounded nearly indistinguishable if I remember correctly). Maybe fangame-makers should consider playing around with sound editing to make the sounds feel more consistent, and to freshen up reused sounds. I wonder if that's what Thunder Dragon did with games like Toad Strikes Back (I remember a post from TD saying that Toad's jump sound effect is a reused sound with the pitch altered).

Did you know that Audacity can be used to rip sounds from GBA games, directly out of the ROM? That's how Greeno ripped sound effects from Mario Pinball Land.

Quillax Ship - Where you can download all of my cool, keen mods and super-marvelous fangames!

[reginald122]

reading this right after i installed the newest update

sorry realized this topic is ancient