List of products and services with post-purchase license change
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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.
List of products and services
| 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 Creative Suite activation |
| Autodesk | AutoCAD, Inventor, etc. | 2023 | In 2016, Autodesk concluded the sale of lifetime licenses,[2] 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.[3] | Autodesk retroactively revokes all lifetime licenses |
| Better Way Electronics | Various PlayStation repair tools | 2024-2025 | TBA | TBA |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Malwarebytes | Malwarebytes | 2014 | TBA | TBA |
| Mailbird | Mailbird | 2025 | TBA[6] | Mailbird revokes lifetime licenses |
| MediaMall | PlayOn | 2021 | In 2021, PlayOn discontinued support for PlayOn Desktop,[7] which forced users to use PlayOn Home or PlayOn Cloud instead, both of which have no lifetime subscriptions. | PlayOn Desktop discontinued |
| Pluralsight | Pluralsight | 2023-2025 | TBA | Pluralsight revokes lifetime licenses |
| Tansee | Tansee | 2020 | TBA | Tansee License Changed from Lifetime to 3 Years After Purchase |
| TeamViewer | TeamViewer | 2021-2025 | In 2021, TeamViewer got rid of the ability to purchase a lifetime license to use TeamViewer.[8]
In June 2025, TeamViewer killed off their lifetime licenses for all users, forcing them to pay for a monthly subscription or lose access.[9][10] |
|
| Wondershare | Filmora | 2022 | In 2022, Wondershare updated their licensing terms inside their EULA to mark all lifetime licenses as invalid;[11] in 2024, consumers sued over this revocation.[12] | Filmora lifetime licenses terminated |
See Also
References
- ↑ The ProValet Team (Oct 16, 2024). "Subscription vs. One-Time Purchase: Which Saves You More Money?". ProValet. Archived from the original on 8 Dec 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ↑ AutoCAD life time license (Jan 5, 2024). "AutoCAD life time license". Autodesk Community. Archived from the original on 8 Jul 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ↑ Ace_Dragon (Jul 1, 2023). "Autodesk changes the deal, retroactively cancels all remaining lifetime licenses". Blender Artists Community. Archived from the original on 20 Oct 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ↑ "Fongo App - removing my "permanent ads removal" purchase". RedFlagDeals. 12 Apr 2024. Archived from the original on 25 Oct 2025. Retrieved 29 Mar 2025.
- ↑ 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. Archived from the original on 18 Oct 2025. Retrieved 29 Mar 2025.
- ↑ Raindog308 (Mar 10, 2025). "The Mailbird Scam: When a "Lifetime" License is Not Lifetime". LowEndBox. Archived from the original on 14 Jul 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ JaviPlanma (Nov 8, 2021). "PSA to Companies: DO NOT OFFER LIFETIME LICENSES if you don't intend to follow through". Reddit. Archived from the original on 7 Nov 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ↑ "Lifetime License ? - TeamViewer Support". 2021-04-15. Archived from the original on 5 Apr 2026.
- ↑ "TeamViewer and the "perpetual license" — paid like for a car, 10 years later they just cut you off". Reddit. 2025-08-14. Archived from the original on 5 Apr 2026.
- ↑ "End of support for TeamViewer versions 11 and 12". TeamViewer Community. 26 May 2025. Archived from the original on 17 Nov 2025.
- ↑ Smith, Ernie (3 Jan 2023). "Filmora lifetime license controversy". MidRange. Archived from the original on 5 Oct 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ↑ McCroskey, Kelsey (26 February 2024). "Wondershare Hit with Lawsuit Over Alleged Subscription Auto-Renewal Practices". ClassAction.org. Archived from the original on 3 Aug 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.