Serious Discussion Windscribe reneged on my free account

Ink

Administrator
Verified
Jan 8, 2011
22,490
To clarify:

Relief codes are temporary upgrades designed to help people in locales where heavy government censorship costs lives. These run for an unspecified amount of time (Typically varies from incident to incident).

When we see internet accessibility return to pre-crisis we then examine when we can return our own service to normal.

Only relief codes are being rolled back at this time. If you have managed to hang on for a temp upgrade for several years...maybe consider it is time to finally upgrade to Pro? As it's only thanks to Pro users that these relief codes can be done in the first place. That they are intended for those in need.
Great find.

If users actually read the terms of the giveaways/promotions, they would understand that these “special offers” were aimed for a target market ie. affected by disasters or political unrest. Many Internet users want software for free, scraping the bottom of the barrel.
 

Digmor Crusher

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Jan 27, 2018
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Great find.

If users actually read the terms of the giveaways/promotions, they would understand that these “special offers” were aimed for a target market ie. affected by disasters or political unrest. Many Internet users want software for free, scraping the bottom of the barrel.
I think their reply is a copout, I've been using it since 2017, no disasters or unrest here in Canada, nor did I see anything that mentioned that this was a "relief code".
 

Ink

Administrator
Verified
Jan 8, 2011
22,490
I think their reply is a copout, I've been using it since 2017, no disasters or unrest here in Canada, nor did I see anything that mentioned that this was a "relief code".
Special codes apply to those in affected regions, however, many Internet users scrambled to grab up 30 GB despite not residing in Turkey, so they’ve never notice it’s not intended for them.

Example 1 - Expired - Windscribe VPN offering free 30GB relief tier for #TurkeySyriaEarthquake
Example 2 - Ending Soon - Windscribe VPN with 30 GB Bandwidth (Per Month) Free for 1 Year
Just FYI, this code was people in Iran. The Troubles in Iran
Quote from Example 2.

Example 3 - Expired - Windscribe VPN: Free 50 GB per month for life
I'm unsure it works for long time as seems to be kind of limited:

1686157396781.png
Quote from Example 3
 

Trident

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Feb 7, 2023
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Oh this time I’ve wrongly jumped to accuse Stacksocial whom I’ve been monitoring for quite some time. From the original post it seemed like a paid account is getting demoted (reneged was the reason), but instead some coupons and other free offers are in question.

When using free service, there is no deal between the parties and no contract, hence no obligations. Free services can be downgraded, amended and suspended at any time.
 
Last edited:

piquiteco

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Oct 16, 2022
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When using free service, there is no deal between the parties and no contract, hence no obligations. Free services can be downgraded, amended and suspended at any time.
Yes, it is true free, there is not much to complain about. You are product. After all when you pay for PRO LIFETIME and you paid for subscription then you have the right to complain. My account is already old, if Windscribe downgrades my account to 10GB per month I wouldn't like it either, but is it any use complaining? of course not, I got a free voucher, I get a ton of e-mails almost every day offering offers, but I don't complain either.
 

silversurfer

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Aug 17, 2014
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jetman

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Jun 6, 2017
477
Having PAID money up-front for a lifetime licence about 5 or 6 years ago when Windscribe were first starting up, I would not be happy if they reneged on that particular deal. The app shows a 10 year licence, and there would be a loss of faith from me if that was not extended. It was people like me who took a financial risk on Windscribe that helped establish them in the VPN industry.
 

roger_m

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Dec 4, 2014
3,185
Having PAID money up-front for a lifetime licence about 5 or 6 years ago when Windscribe were first starting up, I would not be happy if they reneged on that particular deal. The app shows a 10 year licence, and there would be a loss of faith from me if that was not extended. It was people like me who took a financial risk on Windscribe that helped establish them in the VPN industry.
I'm sure that won't happen, since you are paying customer.
 

JasonUK

Level 5
Apr 14, 2020
241
Having PAID money up-front for a lifetime licence about 5 or 6 years ago when Windscribe were first starting up, I would not be happy if they reneged on that particular deal. The app shows a 10 year licence, and there would be a loss of faith from me if that was not extended. It was people like me who took a financial risk on Windscribe that helped establish them in the VPN industry.
I don't think that'll happen. Windscribe themselves state (on their website Why does my Lifetime Pro plan have an expiry date? | Windscribe): "Your Lifetime Pro plan will automatically renew at the end of the 10 year term at no cost if it's still active."
 

uninfected1

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Jan 28, 2016
529
I too have been told my 'lifetime' 50GB/month is now just the standard 10GB. I was one of the first cheerleaders here for Windscribe when they started but not anymore. If they won't honour something they promised then I personally can't see how they can be trusted. Scum company.

Great find.

If users actually read the terms of the giveaways/promotions, they would understand that these “special offers” were aimed for a target market ie. affected by disasters or political unrest. Many Internet users want software for free, scraping the bottom of the barrel.
This user did read the terms and conditions of his 'lifetime' 50GB a month. Nothing at all to do with natural disasters, war etc. This was back in 2016 when Windscribe was starting. I even got an email from the boss Yegor to confirm lifetime meant lifetime. Please don't assume everyone interested in such offers is scraping the barrel. I would have expected better from admin.
 

Sorrento

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I find it hard to have issues with a company that's been supplying a free service - An alternative is to choose a VPN, extract a payment card from purse or wallet or PayPal etc - Pay for the service, then if you are dissatisfied with the service you have a then you do have a right to complain. For something free be thankful you got it for free when you did - I pay for my VPN - If people have paid for a long service from the likes of Social you have a valid claim though I've used StackSocial quite a few times without a problem.
 

uninfected1

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Jan 28, 2016
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I support Windscribe's move and favor their decision. People had access to the free-lifetime service for 7-8 years and enjoyed it. Either purchase a subscription to support them or move on.
Completely missing the point. Windscribe promised a free lifetime 50Gb per month, even to the point of Yegor promising this to me personally and they have not honoured this. The free 7 to 8 years is irrelevant.
 

roger_m

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Dec 4, 2014
3,185
Completely missing the point. Windscribe promised a free lifetime 50Gb per month, even to the point of Yegor promising this to me personally and they have not honoured this. The free 7 to 8 years is irrelevant.
I don't know why you and others are upset about changes to a free service. If you had paid lifetime subscription which was being limited, then I would understand.
 

oldschool

Level 85
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Mar 29, 2018
7,698
I don't know why you and others are upset about changes to a free service
In total agreement.

Luckily for us we were able to use the free plan for the portions of our road trip that mattered, and just got the notice from Windscribe today. Plus we’ve got internet in the car which was offered free for the first month by OnStar! (y)(y):cool: We don’t normally need it otherwise but incredibly useful for a road trip.
 
F

ForgottenSeer 100397

I find it hard to have issues with a company that's been supplying a free service - An alternative is to choose a VPN, extract a payment card from purse or wallet or PayPal etc - Pay for the service, then if you are dissatisfied with the service you have a then you do have a right to complain. For something free be thankful you got it for free when you did - I pay for my VPN - If people have paid for a long service from the likes of Social you have a valid claim though I've used StackSocial quite a few times without a problem.
Exactly. A free-lifetime service for 7-8 years was an excellent deal.
Completely missing the point. Windscribe promised a free lifetime 50Gb per month, even to the point of Yegor promising this to me personally and they have not honoured this. The free 7 to 8 years is irrelevant.
I understood the point. A free-lifetime service that lasted for 7-8 years was a noble offer, IMHO.
Not completely. The thing voucher does is increase your limited bandwidth.

Free users don’t have access to all locations
That's what I was referring to, the 50–60 GB bandwidth. I had an account as well.
 
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