Apple's most recent update to its popular iTunes software has quickly earned the nickname 'Spytunes' among online community bloggers.

The controversial feature in iTunes 6.02 is the MiniStore--a closable frame in the iTunes application window that suggests songs the user can buy based on their listening habits. Due to the fact that the user's songs are stored on their hard drive, iTunes must transmit information to other computers in order to suggest purchases.

This is what angers privacy advocates--particularly because the software transmits listening habits without giving users notice or asking for their consent.

"When the MiniStore is open, iTunes 6.02 sends two bursts of data each time the user selects a new song: one to Apple itself, and the second to a third party called 2o7.net, a site owned by the marketing firm Omniture. The problem with this is that it's done surreptitiously," said legal and technical blogger Marc A. Garrett. "Apple doesn't mention Omniture in the iTunes license, or in the iTMS Terms of Service, or in its Customer Privacy Statement. You don't even know this is happening unless you're running a program like Little Snitch which alerts you when your software attempts to connect to external sites."

With customer trust at play, its surprising Apple didn't design MiniStore to request customer consent. "The core issues are trust and transparency," Garret said. "I want to do business with companies that respects my privacy."