FAQ

No. ZeroTrace is buy-once with lifetime updates, and there are no subscriptions on core hardware or firmware. Activation is a one-time step, not a recurring charge, and there is no renewal date to watch. The desktop software (OSINT and Proxy) is licensed the same way, with no recurring fee to keep using what you have activated.

No usage telemetry. In keeping with the strict no-log policy, confirming a license does not report what you do with your device or software back to us, and your pairings, captures, and investigations stay on your own hardware. The license check runs locally, on your device or your computer, rather than against an account you have to stay signed in to.

Hardware devices still power on, pair, and let you connect and view at a basic public level, an unactivated device is never a brick. A license unlocks the licensed level: the full capture, decode, and operations features. The desktop OSINT and Proxy tools hold their tool library closed until you activate. ZeroTrace Desktop is ungated today and opens ready to use with no license at all.

A new phone is not a transfer: your device's license lives on the device, so you just reinstall the mobile app and re-pair, and the device is still licensed. The desktop software is tied to the machine it was activated on, so a new computer means re-activating there. There is no documented self-serve flow for transferring a device or a license to a different machine or owner, so for that, contact support.

Reinstalling is always free and is not a transfer. Reinstall the mobile app and re-pair, and your device stays licensed. Reinstall the desktop software on the same machine, and it stays activated, the license is kept in your computer's secure storage, not discarded on uninstall. See Offline and local storage.

Licensing is per product, not per account. Each hardware device carries its own license bound to that unit, and a key from one device will not activate another. On the desktop side, an OSINT license and a Proxy license are separate, even though the two apps share a shell. See Activation per product.

Once a product is activated, being offline does not lock you out of what you have unlocked, activation is remembered locally. Hardware devices verify themselves and work over Bluetooth or USB with no internet involved. The desktop software keeps working offline after activation, and if it ever cannot confirm a license when it needs to, it fails safe by holding the tools closed rather than opening them by mistake. See Offline and local storage.

The product explains the reason in plain terms rather than a cryptic code, typically a key issued for a different device or machine, an expired or invalid key, or a check that could not be reached right now. Confirm you are activating the right unit or computer with the right key, and try again. If you are stuck, the apps can copy a redacted diagnostic, with identifiers and secrets stripped, that you can send to support.