Avira licensing is the way Avira, a Gen Digital brand, sells antivirus, VPN, password management and optimisation services. The agreement is a contract between the individual consumer using the services and Avira Inc. for North, Central and South America or Avira Holding GmbH for all other countries.[1] Avira asks users to read the License and Services Agreement (LSA) before using the services and states that users who accept several versions are bound by the most current one they accepted.[1] The LSA is organised in five clauses: definitions, general service terms, software licence terms, service-specific terms and legal terms.[1]
Definitions that drive entitlement
The LSA defines a Device as a computer, laptop, smartphone or tablet, and the Service Entitlement as the number and the type of Devices permitted to use the Software, as specified in the Documentation, which includes purchase, subscription or renewal confirmation emails and terms of sale if transacting directly with Avira.[1] A Service is any Avira software-as-a-service offering as a freemium, paid or trial subscription offering and any one-time service or product, and Freemium means a service offered free of charge for an unlimited time where more advanced features require a paid subscription.[1] A Provider is any Avira authorised reseller or IT service provider.[1] Catalog: Service Entitlement.
Use rights and limits
- Personal or household use. Access to the Services is for the user’s own personal or household use only, and the Services may not be used for commercial purposes, nor accessed, used or shared with family members, non-family members or individuals who do not reside with the user, except as the LSA or documentation provides.[1] Catalog: personal use.
- Accounts are personal. The account is personal and exclusively for the subscriber to manage their (or, if permitted, household) Services, and credentials may not be sold, transferred or shared.[1]
- No transfer or lending. The user may not transfer, sublicense, rent, lease or lend the right to use the Services, nor provide them as part of a facility management, timesharing or service bureau arrangement.[1]
- Single device by default. The software licence allows installing one copy for use on a single Device, unless the Service Entitlement or the transaction documentation of the Provider permits more than one, plus one copy for backup or archive.[1] The licence is non-exclusive, non-transferable and term-limited, for a Device the user owns or controls as specified in the Service Entitlement.[1]
- Network use. The Services may be used over a network only if the Service Entitlement permits use on more than one Device and each Device accessing the Services is from a single household.[1] Catalog: network use.
- Anti-piracy measures. Software may include technological measures against unlicensed use, such as enforcement technology that limits the number of installs and uninstalls on a finite number of Devices.[1]
Avira Prime and business use
Avira Prime is listed at 5 devices and 25 devices.[4] For small businesses the Avira page states that one subscription covers up to 25 devices, and that the product is not compatible with Windows Server.[4] The page also records that the previous Avira Business products were being phased out by December 31, 2021.[4] The consumer LSA, however, restricts use of the Services to personal or household use and prohibits commercial purposes, so a business buying Avira Prime should confirm which agreement applies to it. Avira’s subscription notes state that subscription contracts are subject to its Terms of Sale and License and Services Agreement.[1] Catalog: Avira Prime 5 devices, Avira Prime 25 devices, rules 25-device subscription, no Windows Server.
Service period, renewal and freemium
The Service Period is as stated in the documentation or the Provider’s transaction documents. It begins on the earliest of initial installation or use of the service, acceptance of the LSA, completion of a purchase from the Avira online store, or the date a Provider determines.[1] A freemium service continues until uninstalled or unsupported, a fixed-term subscription ends automatically, and an automatically renewing subscription renews for successive periods unless the renewal is cancelled before the charge date.[1] Whether fixed term or auto-renewing, a subscription turns into a Freemium Service at the end of its Service Period.[1] Catalog: freemium conversion.
Avira’s FAQ states that a subscription renews each year for successive one-year terms or each month for one-month terms according to the selection, with annual renewals charged up to 35 days before and monthly renewals up to 5 days before, and with a notification email carrying the renewal price for annual subscribers.[3] Renewal prices may be higher than the initial price.[1] The Terms of Sale state that if the price changes at renewal, Avira sends advance notice and the customer can cancel the renewal or terminate the contract.[2] Trials that require payment details convert to paid subscriptions on a recurring monthly or annual basis unless cancelled, and a trial of 30 days or more triggers a notification email before the first charge.[2] Catalog rules: renewal billing dates, price changes, trial conversion.
Cancellation and refunds
The LSA refers to the Avira Cancellation and Refund Policy for how to cancel and obtain a refund and states that certain services may carry a money-back guarantee; where a user obtained the service through a Provider the user must cancel with that Provider.[1] Avira’s pricing notes on the LSA page state that monthly subscriptions can be cancelled with a full refund within 14 days of initial purchase and annual subscriptions within 60 days of payment, and that annual renewal payments, including post-trial payments, may be refunded pro rata for the remaining months.[1] Catalog: cancellation and refund terms, rule refund windows.
Content updates, trials and beta features
Services that use content such as virus or URL definitions give access to content updates during the Service Period.[1] Trials follow the specific terms shown at sign-up, and beta features are voluntary and may be subject to fees.[1]
Practical notes
- Record Avira installations by device count against the Service Entitlement on the order confirmation, not against the brand name.
- Treat Avira Prime on servers as unsupported on Windows Server, per the product page.[4]
- Where a device is shared by a household, check that all devices on a network licence belong to one household.[1]
- No customer audit clause was found in the LSA or Terms of Sale; enforcement relies on technical measures and termination.
Out of scope
This article does not cover Breach Monitor, Avira Password Manager, Phantom VPN or technical support service terms in clause 4, privacy terms, US-specific terms or the Avira Standard Terms and Conditions of Business.