AnyDesk Free is the no-charge edition of the AnyDesk remote desktop software. Its contract terms are the Supplementary Terms “AnyDesk Software Free”, Part B of the AnyDesk Terms & Conditions. Part B takes precedence over the general terms for the free product.[1] The free offer “is aimed exclusively at consumers for personal and non-commercial use only and not for use in trade, business or profession or for purposes for which the consumer receives direct or indirect remuneration”.[1] Free is the only AnyDesk product open to consumers, and AnyDesk analyses usage to enforce the limit. For software asset management, the risk is AnyDesk Free installed on business devices, used by staff or support providers without a licence. Catalog proof: AnyDesk Free is limited to personal, non-commercial use.
Editions
AnyDesk Free is one edition, with no paid tiers inside it. The download, any updates and the use of its functions are free of charge.[1] AnyDesk lists the free feature set as “3 managed devices, Mobile Device Support, File Transfer, limited TCP-Tunneling, 1 Address Book, Two-Factor Authentication, Text Chat, Whiteboard, Session Invitation, and access to our Help Center”.[2] With a my.anydesk account, the address book holds up to five contacts.[7] Free sessions time out. The Help Center says users “can restart your connection as many times as needed” and suggests a paid licence to avoid timeouts altogether.[6] Free users without a user account “may experience more limitations in features”, and creating a free account expands connection time.[2] The catalog row is AnyDesk Free.
Metrics
There is no paid metric. The test is the purpose of use, not a count. AnyDesk defines personal use as “using AnyDesk for non-commercial purposes, with no work or business activity involved”.[3] The Supplementary Terms say that “Personal use does not include use for the Customers trade, business or profession or use for purposes for which the Customer receives direct or indirect remuneration.”[1]
Licensing is needed only on the initiating side. “Only outgoing clients that initiate connections to other AnyDesk clients for commercial use need to have an AnyDesk license”, and incoming clients that only accept or reject connections need none.[5] Session participants are free.[11] A business customer who receives support through AnyDesk from a licensed provider can therefore run the free client on its own devices to accept those sessions. A business that initiates sessions with the free client cannot. Catalog proof: Only outgoing clients that initiate commercial connections need a licence.
Counting / floors
What counts as commercial use
AnyDesk’s commercial-use page defines commercial or professional use as “using AnyDesk for professional, work-related purposes”, with remote work and remote support as examples. It adds: “Using AnyDesk at home to access your workstation in the office also qualifies as a commercial use definition.”[2] The professional-use page lists the cases that need a licence: “A license is required if you use AnyDesk for work-related tasks, provide paid technical support, or access a device you use for your job.”[3] The whitelisting form lists use cases from “Support family and friends” and “Connect to my personal devices privately” to “Work from home”, “Provide support to colleagues”, “Support customers remotely” and “Connect to my organization’s devices”.[4] Catalog proof: Accessing a work computer from home is commercial use.
| Scenario | Classification in AnyDesk’s documents |
|---|---|
| Helping family or friends, reaching one’s own personal devices | Personal use[3] |
| Working from home on an office workstation | Commercial use[2] |
| Paid technical support | Commercial use[3] |
| Accepting a session started by a licensed supporter | No licence needed on the receiving side[5] |
Detection and suspension
Under the Supplementary Terms, “ANYDESK may analyze Customer’s usage data of the AnyDesk Software “Free” to verify compliance with personal non-commercial use only”, and it may suspend the free version “if there is reasonable suspicion that Customer’s usage pattern is consistent with commercial activity”.[1] In the client this appears as a pop-up. AnyDesk explains that “your user behavior indicates that you are using our free licenses for commercial purposes”, and that its stated intention is to restrict abusers rather than its private user community.[2] AnyDesk does not publish the criteria it uses. Catalog proof: Free use may be suspended on suspicion of commercial activity.
Paying customers can also be flagged. The commercial-use page asks licensed users to “log in with your user account when using AnyDesk to avoid being wrongly categorized as a private user”. It also says: “If you already have a license, please insert your license key into your AnyDesk client, so we can identify you correctly.”[2] A client removed from a licence “will be unlinked from the user account and assigned to the free version of AnyDesk”.[8] A licence that is cancelled stays active to the end of the billing period, after which the account “moves to the free plan”.[9] Any business use that continues after either event is unlicensed use of the free version. Catalog proof: Licensed users should sign in to avoid being treated as free users; Removing a device from the licence reverts it to the free version.
Virtualization & partitioning
The free terms contain no device, virtualization or partitioning rule. The test is personal versus commercial use on any device.[1]
Cloud / BYOL
The free version uses AnyDesk’s cloud service only. AnyDesk does not guarantee a specific scope of service and may change or discontinue the free service “at any time and without giving reasons”.[1] Free use is outside the availability commitments of the Service Level Agreement, which excludes “any free version, beta, trial offers, early adopter programs and/or demos” from downtime.[12]
Programs
Whitelisting
A private user who has been flagged can “request to get whitelisted, so we can look into your case individually”.[2] The form is titled “Submit a fair use request and continue using AnyDesk for free”. It asks for the AnyDesk ID, country and use case. Whitelisting covers a single installation: “Keep in mind that whitelisting is tied to your AnyDesk ID. So, if you uninstall and re-install AnyDesk, you will need to be whitelisted again.”[4] See Whitelisting (fair use request). Catalog proof: Whitelisting is tied to the AnyDesk ID.
Reverse Trial Period
AnyDesk may offer free users a 30-day test of a business version, the “Reverse Trial Period”. During that period the customer uses a paid version “for commercial use only” free of charge. Afterwards the customer is reverted to AnyDesk Free “and shall continue its use for personal and non-commercial use only”. AnyDesk gives no warranties and takes on no maintenance obligations during the period.[1] See Reverse Trial Period. This differs from the 14- to 30-day Business Trial in Part A, which converts into a paid subscription unless it is cancelled.[1]
Contract term and changes
The free contract runs for an indefinite period, and either party may terminate it at any time. Continued use counts as acceptance of the terms. AnyDesk may change the free terms. A free user who disagrees may terminate with immediate effect, and changes count as accepted if the user does not terminate within three weeks. AnyDesk’s liability for the free version is limited to injury to life, body or health, intent and gross negligence, plus product liability.[1]
Earlier wording
The 2022-09-01 terms already reserved the free offer for consumers. Part B stated that “The ANYDESK “Free” offer is aimed exclusively at consumers within the meaning of § 13 BGB (German Civil Code).”[10] The 2025 version adds the usage-analysis and suspension clause and the Reverse Trial. It has applied to existing free users since 2025-12-15.[1]
Out of scope
- Paid plan limits and add-ons: see AnyDesk plans, users, connections and devices.
- Audits of paid licences under §9 of the general terms: see AnyDesk Terms & Conditions.
- AnyDesk’s student and education pages, which this article does not cover.