Audacity old version without data collection - telemetry

Are you concerned about downloading Audacity from FossHub because of the latest TOS updates?

*Here is the FossHub official statement.

FossHub uses Jotti's Malware Scan service to scan the packages uploaded on our platform automatically. Most of the time, we also upload them via VirusTotal, and most of the devs using our platform are doing it manually.

Audacity Telemetry is not seen as malware by most anti-malware products. In some instances, you have to rely on community feedback. In this case, we think the feedback has been negative as some people seem to accuse FossHub. However, this is a misunderstanding.

Starting with 5th July 2021, we will start to warn users regarding the telemetry debate. We will also inform the Universities and companies that use FossHub to update their packages.

Correction

Version 3.0.0 was the latest version developed by the older Audacity team. Version 3.0.2 still had the touch of the previous Audacity members, but up to and including version 3.0.2, these are all versions that do not collect any data! We recommend you download an older Audacity version for those who are afraid of the newer Audacity versions.

Here is the FossHub project page that contains the old Audacity versions: https://www.fosshub.com/Audacity-old.html

The version with automated version checking (opt-out) in the upcoming 3.0.3, rc02 at https://www.fosshub.com/Audacity-devel.html

It does a version check when you first run it before giving it a chance to opt out.

Context

FossHub has been the official mirror of Audacity since 2014, with over 110 million downloads.

It is essential to mention that we had an excellent relationship with the previous Audacity team. For the record, we made a quick post back in 2020.

As it has been announced, Audacity has been acquired by Muse Group, and FossHub provided access to new team members.

Furthermore, starting with March 2021, FossHub is no longer the primary mirror of Audacity but a secondary one. We were not informed, the new team started to serve Audacity from GitHub. It is their project, their decision.

To summarize this. FossHub is a platform. We help free projects to serve their files. Some users will want to download the latest Audacity versions, while others will feel comfortable downloading and using an older version.

Once again, you can download the older versions from our old project page

We are glad to hear an opt-out for data collection is available for the newer versions.*Without trying to interpret the Audacity new ownership strategy. It is your choice if you wish to keep using Audacity or not. FossHub is neither pro or against this practice.

We can't express an official position as that would mean we are nothing but a bunch of hypocrites.

FossHub is using Google Adsense and Google Analytics, and although we might drop at least one of these services, there is still a basic data collection from a third party.

WE DO NOT COLLECT ANY DATA - including third-party via the free service that FossHub provides to companies, schools, and universities worldwide.

This post was made as some articles, and random social network posts claimed that the latest version that does not use data collection/telemetry is 2.4.2, which is not accurate.

Others recommended using even older versions.