Lifetime license removal
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Lifetime licenses (also known as perpetual licenses, or one-time purchases) are granted for software that many consumers and businesses rely upon daily for the simple fact that it is more affordable in the long-term for these products and services. As subscription-based products have become more favorable for investors among various companies,[1] many are forced outside of the licenses that they expected were theirs to own as-is following the terminology of "lifetime." The removal of these licenses combat the consumers' right to own the products that they paid for.
Why it is a problem edit
Right to Own edit
The sale of these licenses are made with the expectation that the purchaser will forever retain access to this license. When these are revoked among a litany of reasons, via a multitude of methods, such as discontinuing the software or retroactively amending the agreement, it defies the right to ownership.
Examples edit
| Company Name | Product(s) | Year of Removal | Summary | Relevant Article(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe | Photoshop, Acrobat, Firefly, Premiere, Creative Cloud, etc | 2020-Now | Adobe has been slowly revoking licenses across its product library that eliminate the ownership of the products that consumers and businesses have paid for. | Adobe Lightroom: Perpetual to Subscription Transition |
| InfiniteQuant | VPNSecure | 2025 | After the company InfiniteQuant purchased VPNSecure, the company opted to revoke lifetime licenses that users had paid for | VPNSecure.me terminated a "lifetime" license |
| Pluralsight | Pluralsight | 2023-2025 | TBA | Pluralsight revokes lifetime licenses |
| Tansee | Tansee | 2020 | TBA | Tansee License Changed from Lifetime to 3 Years After Purchase |
| Malwarebytes | Malwarebytes | 2014 | TBA | TBA |
| Wondershare | Filmora | 2022 | In 2022, Wondershare updated their licensing terms inside their EULA to mark all lifetime licenses as invalid;[2] in 2024, consumers sued over this revocation.[3] | Filmora lifetime licenses terminated |
| Iconfactory | Linea Sketch | 2020? | In 2020,Iconfactory transitioned Linea Sketch into using a subscription model for users, and revoked licenses for V2 users who had automatic updates enabled on the iOS store. | Linea Sketch revokes lifetime licenses |
| Fongo Inc. | Fongo | 2024 | In 2024, Fongo began switching licenses for Fongo's ad-free version from a one-time payment, to a subscription.[4][5] | Fongo changes purchased Lifetime Ad Removal to Monthly Subscription
FreePhoneLine revokes Lifetime VoIP service for monthly subscription model. |
| Autodesk | AutoCAD, Inventor, etc. | 2023 | In 2016, Autodesk concluded the sale of lifetime licenses,[6] focusing exclusively on a subscription based model; In 2023, they retroactively amended the agreement with the purpose of revoking lifetime licenses from all Autodesk users.[7] | Autodesk retroactively revokes all lifetime licenses |
| MediaMall | PlayOn | 2021 | In 2021, PlayOn discontinued support for PlayOn Desktop,[8] which forced users to use PlayOn Home or PlayOn Cloud instead, both of which have no lifetime subscriptions. | PlayOn Desktop discontinued |
| Mailbird | Mailbird | 2025 | TBA[9] | Mailbird revokes lifetime licenses |
| Better Way Electronics | Various PlayStation repair tools | 2024-2025 | TBA | TBA |
See Also edit
References edit
- ↑ The ProValet Team (Oct 16, 2024). "Subscription vs. One-Time Purchase: Which Saves You More Money?". ProValet. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ↑ Smith, Ernie (3 Jan 2023). "Filmora lifetime license controversy". MidRange. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ↑ McCroskey, Kelsey (26 February 2024). "Wondershare Hit with Lawsuit Over Alleged Subscription Auto-Renewal Practices". ClassAction.org. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ↑ "Fongo App - removing my "permanent ads removal" purchase". RedFlagDeals. 12 Apr 2024. Retrieved 29 Mar 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Sheppard, Tom (10 Apr 2024). "Turns out that Fongo has joined the enshitification march and ad removal has changed to a subscription service with no notice, no warning in the update release notes, and no grandfathering existing customers. Are there any decent companies left?". Mastodon. Retrieved 29 Mar 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ AutoCAD life time license (Jan 5, 2024). "AutoCAD life time license". Autodesk Community. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ↑ Ace_Dragon (Jul 1, 2023). "Autodesk changes the deal, retroactively cancels all remaining lifetime licenses". Blender Artists Community. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ↑ JaviPlanma (Nov 8, 2021). "PSA to Companies: DO NOT OFFER LIFETIME LICENSES if you don't intend to follow through". Reddit. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ↑ Raindog308 (Mar 10, 2025). "The Mailbird Scam: When a "Lifetime" License is Not Lifetime". LowEndBox. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)