Free licenses of Android security app Cerberus still expire

Users with free “lifetime” licenses of Cerberus, the security app for Android, report that the validity of those licenses is about to expire. The developer cannot sustain the free licenses from a financial point of view.

From time to time, LSDroid, the developer of Cerberus anti theft, handed out unlimited free licenses for their application. This allowed the company to increase the popularity of the comprehensive anti-theft app. Now, however, some users still see in the web interface that their license is about to expire, and that they can get a new one for 4.99 euros.

The developers have given an official response to Android Police. They apologize for going back on their promises, but state that it is simply not strong enough to actually offer their service indefinitely. The free licenses expire after 3 years. They hope they have convinced users in those 3 free years that the app is worth 4.99.

While the Android Device Manager allows users to find, lock, and wipe their devices these days, Cerberus offers more functionality than that. The app makes it possible to remotely take screenshots, photos and videos, make audio recordings, retrieve data on mobile and Wi-Fi networks, request call history and enter shell commands remotely. The app can also be hidden and can survive a wipe.