freeware

freeware, software that is typically proprietary and is offered at no cost to users. Its legal use is dictated by the license under which a piece of freeware is released. Common restrictions include prohibitions against modifying, copying, making derivative works from, reverse engineering, or selling the software. Some licenses also state that it is for private and noncommercial use.

Freeware differs from shareware in that the freeware’s base features are completely available to users; no payment is requested to fully utilize them. In addition, while some consider free and open-source software to be a form of freeware, others do not, since copyright owners reserve at least some of their rights. This highlights the fact that there is no agreed-upon definition of freeware among publishers, and the word is sometimes used for distribution models that could just as well be described as shareware or freemium. In fact, the inventor of the term, Andrew Fluegelman, used it for a marketing plan that most users would describe as shareware today.

Freeware alternatives to sold software exist for almost every imaginable use, including Web browsing, virus protection, data recovery, media playing, and gaming. Because the creators of freeware often lack the resources to market their work, users are generally reliant on message boards, blogs, and dedicated websites for most of their information about the availability and quality of programs. These resources are important because downloading unvalidated software from the Internet can result in exposure to viruses and other malware. Users of freeware also cannot depend on the software to be updated or otherwise maintained, since freeware is often created for personal reasons by hobbyists or others who have no greater stake in its ongoing use. Some U.S. states allow such software publishers to disclaim implied warranties by clearly articulating to the user that the product is presented “as is” or “with all faults.”

Although monetary payment is not required to use freeware, its development and distribution may still be motivated by monetary gain. In fact, the most familiar freeware is typically made by for-profit companies. The telecommunications application Skype can be classified as freeware, since it provides phone and videophone service between computers for sessions up to 24 hours long, without payment. However, Skype generates revenue by selling additional services such as supporting calls from landline and mobile phones. Adobe distributes the PDF-reading application Adobe Acrobat Reader in the hope that users will want to create their own PDFs by purchasing the company’s Acrobat software. Manufacturers of computer accessories, such as scanners, usually bundle those products with freeware that enables their operation. And electronic game companies sometimes make earlier versions of new games freely available for promotional purposes.

Of course, an additional service or product offered alongside a piece of freeware may be considered by a particular user to be indispensable to the software itself, and so the categorization of software as freeware lies somewhat in the eye of the beholder. Freemium software in particular operates within this space of ambiguity, as it offers the same unlimited use of core features that freeware does but at a level of performance that encourages the purchase of a commercial version. Some developers have received criticism from their user base for the amount of pressure their software applies. Players of “free-to-play” electronic games, for example, have claimed that some titles are scarcely enjoyable without engaging in what are theoretically optional microtransactions.

On occasion, the belief that a company has engaged in a bait and switch by falsely advertising software as free has resulted in legal action. On March 28, 2022, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission issued an administrative complaint against Intuit Inc. for allegedly misleading many taxpayers into believing its TurboTax software was free to use. On August 5, 2022, longtime users of Google’s Workspace filed a class-action lawsuit against the company for attempting to charge them for continued service.

Some users object to the concept of freeware that includes any form of compensation to owners. This has led to a range of additional portmanteaus for software based on the type of gain the owners hope to receive. Ad-supported software is sometimes referred to as adware, and software that requires user registration is registerware. Owners who request that users perform an action, even one as innocuous as sending an e-mail or making a charitable contribution elsewhere, are sometimes said to have created requestware. And any freeware that is too insistent on recompense of whatever kind for its use—such as by showing too-frequent reminders or advertisements—may well be labeled as annoyware.