App licence and renewal¶
Each enrolled Privitty App has a licence end date that follows your Watchtower subscription. This page shows how to keep Apps working, what reminders operators get, and what to do when access ends.
How App access works¶
- The licence end date equals the end of your Watchtower subscription term. It applies to every App.
- When you renew the subscription, each App picks up the new end date the next time it renews while online. You do nothing per App.
- An App must renew at least once a week. An App that stays offline or unused for 7 days loses access until it renews.
- Watchtower reminds operators 30, 7 and 1 days before the licence end.
Keep Apps renewed¶
An App renews when it checks in with Watchtower while online. What triggers a check-in depends on the platform.
The operator opens or switches to the account, or uses the message box.
The operator opens Settings > Watchtower. Android renews only when this screen is opened, so ask Android operators to open it at least once a week.
The operator shares a file in a chat.
Weekly check-in
Ask operators to open the App while online at least once a week.
Reminders¶
By email. Each day after 09:00 in your install's time zone, Watchtower emails the operator of each active App whose licence ends in exactly 30, 7 or 1 days. The subject is Your Privitty App licence ends in 30 days (or 7 days, 1 day).
In the App. When the App checks in and the licence end is 30, 7 or 1 days away or less, it shows "Access ends in 7 days." once for each threshold. The text shows the threshold reached, not an exact count.
A banner in the lower-left corner. Select Status for details, or ✕ to dismiss it.
A message at the bottom of the conversation list. It disappears on its own.
An alert. Tap OK to dismiss it.
Check an App's status¶
Select Status on the reminder banner. The Watchtower dialog shows Watchtower host and Licence end with the days left.
Open Settings > Watchtower. The screen shows Watchtower host and Licence end.
The status screen opens after enrollment and shows Watchtower host and Access until.
The licence end is the end of that day in UTC, shown in the device's local time, so it can appear as the following day. Last renewal always shows "Not reported".
When access ends¶
The App shows a full-screen Access ended message with a reason and "Contact your organisation administrator."
| Reason | Cause |
|---|---|
expired |
The licence end date has passed, or the App has not renewed for 7 days. |
deactivated |
An admin deactivated the App or disabled the operator. |
invalid |
The App's stored access could not be verified on the device. |
After access ends, the operator cannot open tunnels, use LAN Reach, or share Privitty-protected files.
Check the device clock
The App checks expiry against the device's clock. Set the date, time and time zone to update automatically. A wrong clock can end access early.
Restore access¶
- Renew the subscription. See Billing and usage.
- Ask the operator to open the App while online, using the check-in for their platform above.
If an App still shows expired after the subscription is renewed and the App has been online, send a new invite and enroll the App again. See Operators and the App.
A deactivated App cannot be restored. If the operator should have access, send a new invite and enroll again. If you are unsure why an App lost access, contact Privitty support through the channel listed in your Privitty agreement.