Audacity has been around for two decades the best free audio editor on the market and a mainstay of open source software. Now, an official version has landed on the Microsoft Store and will be useful against freeloaders who pose as the application charging for this development that has always been free.
Audacity hit the media last summer not because of its merits (which are numerous) but because of the privacy concerns that invaded this development once it was acquired by Muse Group, a multinational that you will know, for example, from the famous website of Guitar enthusiasts, Ultimate Guitar.
Despite accusations of having become “spyware” and of violating the open GPL license under which it is released, the application has not lost popularity and has fueled versions that claim to be the “official” ones of the iconic audio editor.
In the Microsoft Store, it is worrying to see the existence of half a dozen versions that charge money (4.99 euros) for downloading and using versions that do not offer any type of improvement in code or support that justify the payment. Of course, it would be another thing if the development forked for the aforementioned privacy issues. It is not the case.
Official version of Audacity in the Microsoft Store
Now the official version has arrived at the Microsoft store «developed by Muse Group and the Audacity open source community«Martin Keary, product manager at Audacity, says: “Due to the ridiculous number of fake Audacity variants available in the Microsoft Store, which charge users for non-functional or very limited apps, I have now (finally) brought the name back and released the proper free version for the first time”.
It is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions for the Windows operating system and is totally free and open source. If you work on other platforms, you can also download it for macOS and Linux from its website.
Muse Group recognized in its day “unclear wording of the Privacy Policy and lack of context regarding the introduction of the changes”, to clarify below the main points of concern of users. But if you’re still concerned about your privacy, you should know that there are alternatives like the ones we’ve already offered you, starting with DarkAudacity, which is also free and open source.
As for the Microsoft Store, despite not having the number of applications of others such as Google Play and the Apple App Store, suffers from counterfeits or imitations which can dilute the value of the original and also negatively affect the revenue of the developers. Audacity, at the moment, is totally free and you don’t have to pay anything for it.
