AdGuard moves to a new licensing system. When something's working, at times it's hard to see that there's a way to make it work even better. But we tested many, many variants, and we're absolutely sure that the one we introduce today is the best one possible. If you take two minutes to read this article, I'm sure you too will see the advantages of the new system.

New system

First, let me paint a picture of what the licensing system looked like up until now.

With the previous approach, we noticed time and time again that a lot of people couldn't figure out what they needed when they got to the purchase page. We tried many things to make the system look as transparent as possible, while remaining familiar to our users, but it never quite worked out. The simple truth is, the complexity scares people away. So we came up with a simpler, yet (or at least so we believe) better solution.

From now on, there will be only two types of licenses: Personal and Family. Personal license key allows you to activate AdGuard on any 3 devices, while Family ups the count of devices to 9. What kinds of devices? That's the best part: it doesn't matter. Windows, Mac, Android or iOS, in any combination. It's as simple as it gets.

And we didn't have an intention to burn the old system to the ground, we're still keeping the "annual subscription/lifetime" differentiation, so you'll be able to choose the option that suits you more.

Foreseeing some questions that will worry many people, I'll answer them right away.

Q: Why is there no option for 1 device license keys?

A: Today, an average person has more than one device in active use. Literally everyone owns a smartphone, and almost everyone has at least some kind of a laptop, desktop PC or a work phone on top of it. It only made sense to offer a type of license that will cover most, if not all, of your devices. And at the same time, looking back at our past experience, we were extremely reluctant to create several types of licenses that would be overlapping a lot anyway — that was the entire point of introducing the new system from the beginning.

Q: What will happen with the existing license keys?

A: To avoid unnecessary mess, we chose the simplest solution. All existing license keys will remain as they are and will not change, unless you decide to upgrade them manually (more about it in the next question).

Q: How can I convert my old license keys to the new system?

A: You can convert any non-lifetime license. Keys for 1, 2 or 3 devices can be coverted either to Personal or Family types, and keys for 4+ devices can only be converted to Family, of course.

To convert any key, you need to renew it manually. There's also an option to convert a key to the Family type without renewal, simply by adding more devices to it. All of these is possible in your personal account on adguard.com.

Q: What will happen to my license key for more than 9 devices?

A: First of all, huge respect to you and thank you for being one of our best customers! :) As your case is quite unique, your license key will stay as is, beyond the Personal/Family types. And if you decide to upgrade it to lifetime, you can still do so via personal account or renew page, we'll make you a personal offer depending on your exact license configuration.

As with any radical changes, not everyone will like it, and that's ok. We hope that given enough time you will be able to see the advantages of the new approach even if it doesn't click with you initially. And, of course, we'll be answering any of your questions that weren't covered in the FAQ in the comments to this post.