The VideoLAN Forums

In the latest update, you asked for my consent to collect data. There was also an explanation for why you want to collect it.
VLC is a free software and should not engage in data collection no matter how good the purpose may be. Unfortunately, I do not believe that your purpose is so goodin the end. In 1 year you may also change your good purpose and then, with my permission, you can then do anything.
I have over 5000 songs in my collection, if your data that you have collected reaches an organization such as STIM that defends copyright in Sweden and that they find out my IP address or similar and then demand me for license money, I can just as easily shoot myself. Because I would never be able to afford it.
I know it sounds crazy, but just the fact it is possible, does I leave VLC.

That's ridiculous.
If there's a stated data collection, the purpose cannot legally changed in any way.
I don't even know which "data collection" you're talking about, as the only one I know is network "metadata" (because we *need* to mention it for GDPR). Yes, you share data when searching the web (Great news !) automatically for album info, or when you automatically download subtiles. That's not even shared with *us*.
And if that's about crash data on android, then that's code traces...
And any can be totally disabled. (that's why we ask on start)

We don't give a f*** about your data. We never collected such data for obvious reasons and will never.
Use something else: I'm sure they provide more guarantees than VideoLAN which is non profit, independant, and already refused million dollars to install ads.

I can offer some copyright advice in my ICECAST experience I run a radio station as a hobby and I have a legit License from ASCAP so I'm good, ASCAP will send me my yearly royalty bill in August in which should only be about $361USD for an entire year lest I get more than 1500 constant listeners a day, I don't advertise or talk, the metadata that I have set up for my radio station enabled VLC to display the name of song and name of artist and what number the song is in the playlist, I have about 20,000 songs total on one 24 hour 7 days a week playlist too

If you are not running a radio station of any kind @ AgainstCookies or? playing your music collection publicly like at a bar or online you're ok you don't need to pay any fee other than what you paid for to actually buy the music for your collection if you did buy it anyway you should not need to worry about licensing unless you run a public radio station or are some kind of DJ like I do

(edit) I didn't realize this thread was 2 years old