Licensing & Activation
How licensing works
The concept behind a ZeroTrace license, how it is tied to your device or machine, and the two access levels that gate what you can do.
A license is tied to your hardware
A ZeroTrace license is bound to a single device or a single machine, not to a cloud account. On a hardware device, the license belongs to that one physical unit. On the desktop software, it belongs to the computer you activated on. Either way, the credential lives with the thing you own, which is why you never sign in to use your gear.
This is the local-first stance applied to licensing: the proof that you are licensed sits on your side, and the check runs there too.
Two access levels
Every licensed ZeroTrace product has the same two levels:
- Public, the unlicensed baseline. The product still works at a basic level. A hardware device powers on, pairs, and lets you connect and view. The point is that an unactivated device is never a brick.
- Licensed, the full level. Activation unlocks the complete capture, decode, and operations feature set described in each product's guide.
You are not locked out until you activate. Public covers connection and basic viewing so you can confirm your device works the moment it arrives; a license adds the advanced features on top.
The desktop software (OSINT and Proxy) follows the same idea, with the tool library held closed until you activate and unlocked once you do.
Activation joins the two
Activation is the one-time step that confirms your license and switches a product from the public level to the licensed level.
- You supply your license, by scanning its QR code, or entering the key, on a hardware device, or by activating inside a desktop app.
- The product verifies the license against the device or machine it is bound to.
- Once confirmed, the licensed features become available and stay available. You do not repeat the step every time you connect or launch.
After a successful activation, the license is remembered on the device or the machine. Reconnecting, relaunching, or restarting does not require you to activate again.
Why it is built this way
Because the check is local and per-device, three things follow directly, and they are the whole reason for the design:
- No subscription. There is no recurring charge and no renewal date on core hardware and firmware.
- No account. Nothing to create, nothing to sign in to, nothing to lose.
- No telemetry. Confirming a license does not report your usage back to us; in keeping with the strict no-log policy, your pairings, captures, and investigations stay on your own hardware.
For the exact activation step per product, see Activation per product. For how the license behaves without a connection, see Offline and local storage.