ManyCam is a live video streaming software application. ManyCam.com says :
{{ToneWarning}}
{{quote | Manycam is an easy-to-use virtual camera and live streaming software that helps you deliver professional live videos on streaming platforms, video conferencing apps, and remote learning tools.}}
{{InfoboxProductLine
| Title = ManyCam
| Release Year = 2024
| Product Type = Software
| In Production = Yes
| Official Website = https://manycam.com/
| Logo = Manycam.png
}}
== Controversies ==
'''ManyCam''' is a live video-streaming software application owned by [[Paltalk]], formerly known as [[AVM Software]]. ManyCam.com describes the application as:
{{Quote box
|quote=" .. an easy-to-use virtual camera and live streaming software that helps you deliver professional live videos on streaming platforms, video conferencing apps, and remote learning tools."}}
=== "Lifetime" Licenses Sold: Bait and Switch ===
==Revocation of lifetime licenses==
In the summer of 2022 Paltalk [[Retroactively amended purchase|retroactively amended]] the purchase of its ManyCam software, blocking "Lifetime" subscribers from updating to the newest version, leaving them without access to the software they had already purchased.
Prior to ManyCam's acquisition by [[Paltalk]] in 2022, ManyCam sold customers "Lifetime" licenses under the promise that all future versions and upgrades would be free.
Prior to ManyCam's acquisition by Paltalk in 2022, ManyCam offered lifetime licenses which were advertised as including all future versions and upgrades for a one-time payment, a fact made evident by the statements on the ManyCam website, up until March 2022, that <q>Any paid ManyCam Lifetime subscription allows you to upgrade the ManyCam software for free whenever a newer version of ManyCam is released</q> and that <q>ManyCam Lifetime subscription plans are a one-time payment, no renewal or other fees included.</q><ref name="ManyCam Knowledge Base: Will I get all future versions and updates of ManyCam for free?"> [https://web.archive.org/web/20220317113659/https://help.manycam.com/knowledge-base/manycam-devices-video-sources/ "ManyCam Knowledge Base: Will I get all future versions and updates of ManyCam for free?"] manycam.com via The Internet Archive </ref>
The ManyCam website as of March 2022 stated: <ref name="ManyCam Knowledge Base: Will I get all future versions and updates of ManyCam for free?">{{cite web |https://web.archive.org/web/20220317113659/https://help.manycam.com/knowledge-base/manycam-devices-video-sources/ |title=ManyCam Knowledge Base: Will I get all future versions and updates of ManyCam for free?}}</ref>
After acquiring ManyCam in June 2022, Paltalk released an update for customers to upgrade to ManyCam 8.0.0, a version of the software with which the lifetime licenses did not work.<ref name="ManyCam Forum: Activation many cam 8 and many cam lite - 2022-07-05"> [https://web.archive.org/web/20220705084722/https://forum.manycam.com/t/activation-many-cam-8-and-many-cam-lite/6448 "ManyCam Forum: Activation many cam 8 and many cam lite"] manycam.com via The Internet Archive on July 5th, 2022</ref>
[[File:ManyCam 7 Lifetime Studio notifies of updates by default.png|alt=A screenshot of ManyCam 7 with Lifetime Studio with default settings. The "Notify me about new ManyCam versions" setting is enabled by default.|thumb|A screenshot of ManyCam 7 Lifetime Studio with default settings. The "Notify me about new ManyCam versions" setting is enabled by default.]]
As ManyCam 7 was configured by default to notify users of any new versions available for upgrades under the "lifetime" license, many users followed the usual upgrade path to ManyCam 8, and were unable to activate their "lifetime" license as usual.<ref name="ManyCam Forum: Activation many cam 8 and many cam lite - 2022-07-05" /> Presumably this was not properly communicated with many customers, as many expressed their surprise when their lifetime licenses stopped working like they used to.<ref name="ManyCam Forums: Don't Upgrade to ManyCam 8! - 2022-07-05">[https://web.archive.org/web/20220705095408/https://forum.manycam.com/t/dont-upgrade-to-manycam-8/6440 "ManyCam Forums: Don't Upgrade to ManyCam 8!"] forum.manycam.com via The Internet Archive on July 5th, 2022</ref>
<blockquote>
On July 1, 2022, a "Guest Writer" who was posting under the guise of Visicom Media, the previous owner, made a blog post on the official ManyCam.com website:<ref name="ManyCam Blog: Update for ManyCam Lifetime Subscriptions">[https://web.archive.org/web/20230531011812/https://manycam.com/blog/update-for-manycam-lifetime-subscriptions/ "ManyCam Blog: Update for ManyCam Lifetime Subscriptions"] manycam.com via The Interner Archive</ref>
'''ManyCam Lifetime subscription plans'''
Any paid '''ManyCam Lifetime''' subscription allows you to upgrade the ManyCam software for free whenever a newer version of ManyCam is released, i.e. with ManyCam Lifetime, you will get lifetime access to all future versions and updates of the ManyCam application for free, which includes access to the paid ManyCam features available in your subscription plan (Standard, Studio, Premium, Enterprise, Education).
{{Quote box|quote=
"ManyCam is now under new ownership. The new owner does not offer Lifetime subscriptions. Some Lifetime customers have been concerned about their ability to use their subscription in the future. The intent was never to interfere with that ability of current Lifetime customers.
ManyCam Lifetime subscription plans are a one-time payment, no renewal or other fees included.
</blockquote>
After June 2022, Paltalk stopped honoring their agreement with customers by forcing an upgrade to ManyCam 8. This caught many customers by surprise when their "lifetime" subscription licenses stopped working like they used to. One customer related their experience on the ManyCam Forums in a thread titled '''"Don't Upgrade to ManyCam 8!"''' <ref name="ManyCam Forums: Don't Upgrade to ManyCam 8!">{{cite web |https://web.archive.org/web/20220705095408/https://forum.manycam.com/t/dont-upgrade-to-manycam-8/6440
Visicom Media stands by the Lifetime customers and will continue to support them by arranging with the new owner for a total of two years of free subscription. This offer can be claimed in the ManyCam account on the webpage. At the user’s request, and upon the expiration of the two-year free subscription, Visicom Media will offer an upgrade to any current Lifetime customers who continue to need such access."
|title=ManyCam Forums: Don't Upgrade to ManyCam 8!}}</ref>
|width=80%|align=right|margin=0.5em}}
<blockquote>
====Retroactive change to ManyCam FAQ Page====
June 14, 2022, 4:48pm #1
I was testing ManyCam 8 beta and today I have reallized that all my subscriptions DOESN’T WORK WITH ManyCam 8 (and I have 3, standard, studio and premium lifetime all of them). And what is most, there aren’t a lifetime subscription for ManyCam 8.
After the release of the ManyCam 8.0.0 update, around June 18, 2022, Paltalk modified the ManyCam Knowledge Base webpage to change the stated terms regarding the ManyCam Lifetime subscription plans:<ref name="ManyCam Knowledge Base (Modified by Paltalk): Will I get all future versions and updates of ManyCam for free?">[https://web.archive.org/web/20220618021632/https://help.manycam.com/knowledge-base/manycam-devices-video-sources/ " Will I get all future versions and updates of ManyCam for free?"] manycam.com via The Internet Archive ''After being aquired by Patatalk'' </ref>
So, why do you offer me a “lifetime” subscription if it doesn’t work with new versions.
<blockquote>
'''ManyCam Lifetime subscription plans'''
Sorry but it seems unacceptable. Very disappointed.
Any paid 'ManyCam 7' Lifetime subscription allows you to upgrade the 'ManyCam 7' software for free whenever a newer version of 'ManyCam 7' is released, i.e. with 'ManyCam 7 Lifetime', you will get lifetime access to all future versions and updates of the 'ManyCam 7' application for free, which includes access to the paid 'ManyCam 7' features available in your subscription plan (Standard, Studio, Premium, Enterprise, Education). 'ManyCam 7 Lifetime' subscription plans are a one-time payment, no renewal or other fees included.
[NAME REDACTED]
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
Later, on July 1st 2022, a "Guest Writer" who was posting under the guise of Visicom Media, the previous owner, made a web blog post on the official ManyCam.com website: <ref name="ManyCam Blog: Update for ManyCam Lifetime Subscriptions">{{cite web |https://web.archive.org/web/20230531011812/https://manycam.com/blog/update-for-manycam-lifetime-subscriptions/
This change replaced "ManyCam" with "ManyCam 7". Thus their statement effectively made no promises of any upgrades, because ManyCam 8 had already been released and Paltalk was no longer developing new versions of ManyCam 7.
|title=ManyCam Blog: Update for ManyCam Lifetime Subscriptions}}</ref>
<blockquote>
==Customer reaction==
ManyCam is now under new ownership. The new owner does not offer Lifetime subscriptions. Some Lifetime customers have been concerned about their ability to use their subscription in the future. The intent was never to interfere with that ability of current Lifetime customers.
After Paltalk's acquisition of ManyCam, many customers posted their experiences and complaints on both personal web blogs and the official ManyCam forums.
Visicom Media stands by the Lifetime customers and will continue to support them by arranging with the new owner for a total of two years of free subscription. This offer can be claimed in the ManyCam account on the webpage. At the user’s request, and upon the expiration of the two-year free subscription, Visicom Media will offer an upgrade to any current Lifetime customers who continue to need such access.
</blockquote>
As a result of [[Paltalk]]'s actions, many users who relied on this video software throughout the COVID-19 pandemic were caught in a situation where the software was inoperable, despite having paid for a "Lifetime" license.
One user created a post on their personal web blog, describing the situation:<ref name="Amazing CTO (Blog): ManyCam dishonored my lifetime license">[https://web.archive.org/web/20230413205720/https://www.amazingcto.com/beware-manycam-licensing-pricing/ "ManyCam dishonored my lifetime license"] amazingcto.com via The Internet Archive</ref>
Another user created a post on their personal web blog, describing the situation:
<ref name="Amazing CTO (Blog): ManyCam dishonored my lifetime license">{{cite web |https://web.archive.org/web/20230413205720/https://www.amazingcto.com/beware-manycam-licensing-pricing/
|title=Amazing CTO (Blog): ManyCam dishonored my lifetime license}}</ref>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
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I do understand the constraints of a business, and sometimes you need money right now, so you want to get all your future income from a customer and offer a lifetime license. I also understand selling a business and the new owner has new priorities (the reason I tell all my CTO coachees they need everything in writing from their boss in their contract, a new boss will probably only honor what is written down, not spoken promises). I understand the reason for the lifetime license might be to increase sales numbers before you sell the business. But then you should honor that deal and let the customer use your software for a lifetime, and not make it stop working after a year. You can argue it’s a new release, and lifetime was only for the old software. If you keep lifetime bug fixes coming and all the features working for the old software, this might be fine but still feels dishonest (they didn’t answer my question of how long my version would be supported with bug fixes - especially as it crashes rather often1). And I’d argue from a software developer point of view it’s easier to let the customer use the newest software than updating and fixing older version for “Lifetime”, especially if you have a complete rewrite.
I do understand the constraints of a business, and sometimes you need money right now, so you want to get all your future income from a customer and offer a lifetime license. I also understand selling a business and the new owner has new priorities (the reason I tell all my CTO coachees they need everything in writing from their boss in their contract, a new boss will probably only honor what is written down, not spoken promises). I understand the reason for the lifetime license might be to increase sales numbers before you sell the business. But then you should honor that deal and let the customer use your software for a lifetime, and not make it stop working after a year. You can argue it’s a new release, and lifetime was only for the old software. If you keep lifetime bug fixes coming and all the features working for the old software, this might be fine but still feels dishonest (they didn’t answer my question of how long my version would be supported with bug fixes - especially as it crashes rather often1). And I’d argue from a software developer point of view it’s easier to let the customer use the newest software than updating and fixing older version for “Lifetime”, especially if you have a complete rewrite.
This tradeoff between short time benefits and long term benefits is something that goes on in every company and especially startups. Do you do everything to get this one customer? Do you want to develop a feature for one customer to win the customer or develop some other feature to win potentially more customers in the future? Do you invest in future growth? In stability and scalability? Or do you invest all your effort into short term gains?
[…]
A little detour. In the beginning of a startup it’s often a good idea to invest in short term gains. There is too much work to do, you need to show traction at all costs or if bootstrapped, make some money. Then at a certain point, a startup needs to switch to a more sustainable future. Put things on the roadmap for future growth. A good way to do this is having development budgets. In financial budget planning companies plan on how they want to spend money (resources) for maximum effect. What percentage goes to development, what percentage of the budget goes to marketing. The same can be applied to development time (resources). You plan to spend 10% of your development time on scaling, 10% on maintenance, 20% on short term gains, 20% on marketing and 40% on future growth features. Then from quarter to quarter you can adjust the numbers to reflect you current situation. But just as budgeting your calendar (something I highly recommend) you do not lose focus and make sure you work on the right things instead of having development chaos.
Coming back to customers. Do you invest in extracting short term money from customers? Or do you invest in long term relations. In the case of ManyCam they could have sold me add-ons that feel like they are worth it. By honoring the lifetime license the likelihood of me buying from them increases. It is the same as from the detour. In the beginning it’s about getting traction, then about getting money. And then the key to growth is retention. If you want to grow your customer base, the first thing is to prevent customers leaving. If you fill water in a bucket with a hole - something I’ve seen in to many startups on how they use marketing without product market fit - then after some time the bucket is empty when you stop pouring. So don’t make your customers run away.
Coming back to customers. Do you invest in extracting short term money from customers? Or do you invest in long term relations. In the case of ManyCam they could have sold me add-ons that feel like they are worth it. By honoring the lifetime license the likelihood of me buying from them increases. It is the same as from the detour. In the beginning it’s about getting traction, then about getting money. And then the key to growth is retention. If you want to grow your customer base, the first thing is to prevent customers leaving. If you fill water in a bucket with a hole - something I’ve seen in to many startups on how they use marketing without product market fit - then after some time the bucket is empty when you stop pouring. So don’t make your customers run away.
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
As is evident from the above posts, many customers were unhappy about being placed in the situation that [[Paltalk]] put them in, and felt that [[Paltalk]] was being dishonest because their actions constituted a classic [[Bait and Switch]] tactic. Other users agreed with this assessment, saying that they were "'disgusted'": <ref name="ManyCam Forums: Lifetime Sub no longer valid">{{cite web |https://web.archive.org/web/20231024221248/https://forum.manycam.com/t/lifetime-sub-no-longer-valid-manycam-8/6456 |title=ManyCam Forums: Lifetime Sub no longer valid}}</ref>
As is evident from these posts, many customers were unhappy about being placed in the situation that Paltalk put them in, and felt that Paltalk was being dishonest because their actions constituted a classic [[bait and switch|bait-and-switch]] tactic. Other users agreed with this assessment, saying that they were "disgusted":<ref name="ManyCam Forums: Lifetime Sub no longer valid">[https://web.archive.org/web/20231024221248/https://forum.manycam.com/t/lifetime-sub-no-longer-valid-manycam-8/6456 "ManyCam Forums: Lifetime Sub no longer valid"] forum.manycam.com via The Internet Archive</ref>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
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</blockquote>
</blockquote>
Paying customers were driven away from ManyCam due to [[Paltalk]]'s actions. Understandably, those paying customers were very unhappy when their "lifetime" license no longer worked, as it had for all other versions prior to ManyCam version 8. One customer related their experiences with previous upgrades to compare and contrast with the new situation and highlight their perception of the company's dishonest behavior: <ref name="ManyCam Forums: Lifetime Sub no longer valid"></ref>
Other customers were thankful that people in the ManyCam online forums had posted their experiences to warn against upgrading.<ref name="ManyCam Forums: Don't Upgrade to ManyCam 8! - 2022-07-05"></ref>
{{Quote box|quote=[USERNAME REDACTED] June 21, 2022, 5:44pm
I just want to say, I came to the forums after seeing the option to pay was Annual or 2 years and I appreciate all the posts warning me against the newest upgrade. Looks like Manycam ha[s] [sic] fallen victim to subscription greed. Disappointing, but good luck to them I guess. I’m going to a competitor where I can just buy the software, forced subscriptions are the refuge of the lazy. I’m not saying developers shouldn’t be paid, on the contrary, I WANT to pay them, but I’m not willing to be a steady stream of income for, lets be honest, slow innovation and perpetually out of date UI design. It was a good run though. 🫡
}}
At least one customer was evaluating ManyCam as a candidate for purchasing software licenses for their employees. However, they removed ManyCam from their software candidate list citing Paltalk's deceptive act of changing the "lifetime" license terms to only apply to ManyCam version 7.x.<ref name="ManyCam Forums: Don't Upgrade to ManyCam 8! - 2022-07-05"></ref>
{{Quote box|quote=[USERNAME REDACTED] June 21, 2022, 8:26pm #41
I think they take us for idiots, and hope we’ll all accept that ‘lifetime’ only referred to the lifetime of version 7,x, or not notice, or something.
I’ve already had ManyCam removed from a proof of concept candidate list at work on the basis that the company is no longer trustworthy
}}
Another customer who purchased the "lifetime" license noticed that the new version of "''ManyCam Lite''" had also been updated to put a feature gate on the high resolutions, which now required the new paid subscription.<ref name="ManyCam Forums: Don't Upgrade to ManyCam 8! - 2022-07-05"></ref>
{{Quote box|quote=[USERNAME REDACTED] June 22, 2022, 4:05pm #42
FYI - those who bought “Lifetime” - strongly suggest you do NOT get the newer ManyCam Lite.
They’ve gated high resolutions behind the new subscription.
So while yes, it will at least “run”, it’s been nerfed.
[[File:Manycam Screenshot- Feature Gated High Resolutions.png|alt=A screenshot of ManyCam Lite after the update, showing the newly locked (feature gated) high resolutions. |thumb|A screenshot of ManyCam Lite after the update, shows the newly locked (feature gated) high resolutions. Lifetime license holders were shown this screen in the app settings after the update.|none]]
}}
Yet another customer was upset about changes to the app which Paltalk made to advertise their other self-titled app, "Paltalk".<ref name="ManyCam Forums: Don't Upgrade to ManyCam 8! - 2022-07-05"></ref>
{{Quote box|quote=[USERNAME REDACTED] August 7, 2022, 10:59pm #54
To add insult to injury, when I restarted my mac today and opened Manycam, I had an ad pop-up for PalTalk (another app of theirs I gather). So, if the comments here are accurate, not only are they not honouring the terms of our lifetime subscriptions, they’re also advertising to us in-app?
}}
As evident from these forum posts, many paying customers were not pleased and driven away from ManyCam because of Paltalk's actions. Understandably, those paying customers were very unhappy when their "lifetime" license no longer worked, as it had for all other versions prior to ManyCam version 8. Customers noticed that the company had changed the terms of their lifetime licenses after they had purchased such licenses under the promises of free future upgrades. One customer related their experiences with previous upgrades to compare and contrast with the new situation and highlight their perception of the company's dishonest behavior:<ref name="ManyCam Forums: Lifetime Sub no longer valid"></ref>
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Another customer agreed with the "AmazingCTO"'s assessment and proposal that [[Paltalk]] should honor their previous customers' Lifetime licenses by grandfathering them in: <ref name="ManyCam Forums: Lifetime Sub no longer valid"></ref>
Another customer agreed with the "AmazingCTO"'s assessment and proposal that Paltalk should honor their previous customers' Lifetime licenses by grandfathering them in:<ref name="ManyCam Forums: Lifetime Sub no longer valid"></ref>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
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</blockquote>
</blockquote>
Indeed, most human beings would concur that a "lifetime" is a span of time much greater than one year. As such, these customers perceived [[Paltalk]] to be disingenuous by not honoring the "lifetime" license agreement.
Indeed, as "AmazingCTO" and this user observed, most human beings would concur that a "lifetime" is a span of time much greater than one year. As such, these customers perceived Paltalk to be disingenuous by not honoring the "lifetime" license agreement.
Later, on around June 18th 2022, [[Paltalk]] modified the ManyCam Knowledge Base webpage to change the stated terms regarding the ManyCam Lifetime subscription plans: (emphasis added on changes) <ref name="ManyCam Knowledge Base (Modified by Paltalk): Will I get all future versions and updates of ManyCam for free?">{{cite web |https://web.archive.org/web/20220618021632/https://help.manycam.com/knowledge-base/manycam-devices-video-sources/ |title=ManyCam Knowledge Base (Modified by Paltalk: Will I get all future versions and updates of ManyCam for free?}}</ref>
<blockquote>
'''ManyCam Lifetime subscription plans'''
Any paid ''''ManyCam 7'''' Lifetime subscription allows you to upgrade the ''''ManyCam 7'''' software for free whenever a newer version of ''''ManyCam 7'''' is released, i.e. with ''''ManyCam 7 Lifetime'''', you will get lifetime access to all future versions and updates of the ''''ManyCam 7'''' application for free, which includes access to the paid ''''ManyCam 7'''' features available in your subscription plan (Standard, Studio, Premium, Enterprise, Education). ''''ManyCam 7 Lifetime'''' subscription plans are a one-time payment, no renewal or other fees included.
</blockquote>
Of course, this was a very obvious change to previous customers who had enjoyed free upgrades for any and all versions prior to ManyCam 7. Needless to say, those customers were still unhappy. The new language simply replaced '"ManyCam"' with '"ManyCam 7"'. Additionally, their statement effectively made '''no promises of any upgrades''' because ManyCam 8 had already been released, and no new versions of ManyCam 7 were to be worked on by [[Paltalk]].
==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
<references />
[[Category:ManyCam]]
Latest revision as of 08:45, 5 March 2025
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ManyCam is a live video-streaming software application owned by Paltalk, formerly known as AVM Software. ManyCam.com describes the application as:
" .. an easy-to-use virtual camera and live streaming software that helps you deliver professional live videos on streaming platforms, video conferencing apps, and remote learning tools."
In the summer of 2022 Paltalk retroactively amended the purchase of its ManyCam software, blocking "Lifetime" subscribers from updating to the newest version, leaving them without access to the software they had already purchased.
Prior to ManyCam's acquisition by Paltalk in 2022, ManyCam offered lifetime licenses which were advertised as including all future versions and upgrades for a one-time payment, a fact made evident by the statements on the ManyCam website, up until March 2022, that Any paid ManyCam Lifetime subscription allows you to upgrade the ManyCam software for free whenever a newer version of ManyCam is released and that ManyCam Lifetime subscription plans are a one-time payment, no renewal or other fees included.[1]
After acquiring ManyCam in June 2022, Paltalk released an update for customers to upgrade to ManyCam 8.0.0, a version of the software with which the lifetime licenses did not work.[2]
A screenshot of ManyCam 7 Lifetime Studio with default settings. The "Notify me about new ManyCam versions" setting is enabled by default.
As ManyCam 7 was configured by default to notify users of any new versions available for upgrades under the "lifetime" license, many users followed the usual upgrade path to ManyCam 8, and were unable to activate their "lifetime" license as usual.[2] Presumably this was not properly communicated with many customers, as many expressed their surprise when their lifetime licenses stopped working like they used to.[3]
On July 1, 2022, a "Guest Writer" who was posting under the guise of Visicom Media, the previous owner, made a blog post on the official ManyCam.com website:[4]
"ManyCam is now under new ownership. The new owner does not offer Lifetime subscriptions. Some Lifetime customers have been concerned about their ability to use their subscription in the future. The intent was never to interfere with that ability of current Lifetime customers.
Visicom Media stands by the Lifetime customers and will continue to support them by arranging with the new owner for a total of two years of free subscription. This offer can be claimed in the ManyCam account on the webpage. At the user’s request, and upon the expiration of the two-year free subscription, Visicom Media will offer an upgrade to any current Lifetime customers who continue to need such access."
After the release of the ManyCam 8.0.0 update, around June 18, 2022, Paltalk modified the ManyCam Knowledge Base webpage to change the stated terms regarding the ManyCam Lifetime subscription plans:[5]
ManyCam Lifetime subscription plans
Any paid 'ManyCam 7' Lifetime subscription allows you to upgrade the 'ManyCam 7' software for free whenever a newer version of 'ManyCam 7' is released, i.e. with 'ManyCam 7 Lifetime', you will get lifetime access to all future versions and updates of the 'ManyCam 7' application for free, which includes access to the paid 'ManyCam 7' features available in your subscription plan (Standard, Studio, Premium, Enterprise, Education). 'ManyCam 7 Lifetime' subscription plans are a one-time payment, no renewal or other fees included.
This change replaced "ManyCam" with "ManyCam 7". Thus their statement effectively made no promises of any upgrades, because ManyCam 8 had already been released and Paltalk was no longer developing new versions of ManyCam 7.
After Paltalk's acquisition of ManyCam, many customers posted their experiences and complaints on both personal web blogs and the official ManyCam forums.
One user created a post on their personal web blog, describing the situation:[6]
How one day I've learned that lifetime license doesn't mean lifetime
I wanted to talk about customer relations and how to have a successful startup. And what not to do.
Let’s start with a story. I’ve bought a Premium Lifetime license from ManyCam. ManyCam is a software that does several things, I needed it to be able to use a webcam in two applications at the same time. One year after I’ve bought the Lifetime license, they released a new version and my Lifetime license effectively stopped working.
“ManyCam is now under new ownership. […] Visicom Media stands by the Lifetime customers and will continue to support them by arranging with the new owner for a total of two years of free subscription." Standing by the lifetime customer by offering two years and dishonoring the lifetime license? I call that a “Weasel License” not a “Lifetime Premium License” as the lifetime of a weasel is two years (Can you believe that? I didn’t know either).
There is the saying that a happy customer doesn’t talk, but an unhappy customer spreads their bad experience to ten people. The person you’ve sold the lifetime license to will probably never update, because they hate you, there is no money in it for you anymore from that customer except you can hold them hostage. In this case even more sinister, offering a free subscription to get you on the subscription bandwagon - screw you twice. But I chose a one time lifetime license exactly because I don’t want a subscription. So trying to get me on a subscription doesn’t make any sense at all. In the end money for you but the downside of an unhappy customer running around, telling their story.
I do understand the constraints of a business, and sometimes you need money right now, so you want to get all your future income from a customer and offer a lifetime license. I also understand selling a business and the new owner has new priorities (the reason I tell all my CTO coachees they need everything in writing from their boss in their contract, a new boss will probably only honor what is written down, not spoken promises). I understand the reason for the lifetime license might be to increase sales numbers before you sell the business. But then you should honor that deal and let the customer use your software for a lifetime, and not make it stop working after a year. You can argue it’s a new release, and lifetime was only for the old software. If you keep lifetime bug fixes coming and all the features working for the old software, this might be fine but still feels dishonest (they didn’t answer my question of how long my version would be supported with bug fixes - especially as it crashes rather often1). And I’d argue from a software developer point of view it’s easier to let the customer use the newest software than updating and fixing older version for “Lifetime”, especially if you have a complete rewrite.
[…]
Coming back to customers. Do you invest in extracting short term money from customers? Or do you invest in long term relations. In the case of ManyCam they could have sold me add-ons that feel like they are worth it. By honoring the lifetime license the likelihood of me buying from them increases. It is the same as from the detour. In the beginning it’s about getting traction, then about getting money. And then the key to growth is retention. If you want to grow your customer base, the first thing is to prevent customers leaving. If you fill water in a bucket with a hole - something I’ve seen in to many startups on how they use marketing without product market fit - then after some time the bucket is empty when you stop pouring. So don’t make your customers run away.
As is evident from these posts, many customers were unhappy about being placed in the situation that Paltalk put them in, and felt that Paltalk was being dishonest because their actions constituted a classic bait-and-switch tactic. Other users agreed with this assessment, saying that they were "disgusted":[7]
[USERNAME REDACTED] June 15, 2022, 4:56pm
So, after using the beta for a while now, suddenly it tells me that my lifetime sub isnt valid for manycam 8 or higher.
There is no longer any lifetime pricing listed on their site.
They’ve basically sold lifetime subscriptions and spontaneously stopped supporting them in releases going forward.
Bait & Switch trash move. I’m disgusted.
Other customers were thankful that people in the ManyCam online forums had posted their experiences to warn against upgrading.[3]
[USERNAME REDACTED] June 21, 2022, 5:44pm
I just want to say, I came to the forums after seeing the option to pay was Annual or 2 years and I appreciate all the posts warning me against the newest upgrade. Looks like Manycam ha[s] [sic] fallen victim to subscription greed. Disappointing, but good luck to them I guess. I’m going to a competitor where I can just buy the software, forced subscriptions are the refuge of the lazy. I’m not saying developers shouldn’t be paid, on the contrary, I WANT to pay them, but I’m not willing to be a steady stream of income for, lets be honest, slow innovation and perpetually out of date UI design. It was a good run though. 🫡
At least one customer was evaluating ManyCam as a candidate for purchasing software licenses for their employees. However, they removed ManyCam from their software candidate list citing Paltalk's deceptive act of changing the "lifetime" license terms to only apply to ManyCam version 7.x.[3]
[USERNAME REDACTED] June 21, 2022, 8:26pm #41
I think they take us for idiots, and hope we’ll all accept that ‘lifetime’ only referred to the lifetime of version 7,x, or not notice, or something.
I’ve already had ManyCam removed from a proof of concept candidate list at work on the basis that the company is no longer trustworthy
Another customer who purchased the "lifetime" license noticed that the new version of "ManyCam Lite" had also been updated to put a feature gate on the high resolutions, which now required the new paid subscription.[3]
[USERNAME REDACTED] June 22, 2022, 4:05pm #42
FYI - those who bought “Lifetime” - strongly suggest you do NOT get the newer ManyCam Lite.
They’ve gated high resolutions behind the new subscription.
So while yes, it will at least “run”, it’s been nerfed.
A screenshot of ManyCam Lite after the update, shows the newly locked (feature gated) high resolutions. Lifetime license holders were shown this screen in the app settings after the update.
Yet another customer was upset about changes to the app which Paltalk made to advertise their other self-titled app, "Paltalk".[3]
[USERNAME REDACTED] August 7, 2022, 10:59pm #54
To add insult to injury, when I restarted my mac today and opened Manycam, I had an ad pop-up for PalTalk (another app of theirs I gather). So, if the comments here are accurate, not only are they not honouring the terms of our lifetime subscriptions, they’re also advertising to us in-app?
As evident from these forum posts, many paying customers were not pleased and driven away from ManyCam because of Paltalk's actions. Understandably, those paying customers were very unhappy when their "lifetime" license no longer worked, as it had for all other versions prior to ManyCam version 8. Customers noticed that the company had changed the terms of their lifetime licenses after they had purchased such licenses under the promises of free future upgrades. One customer related their experiences with previous upgrades to compare and contrast with the new situation and highlight their perception of the company's dishonest behavior:[7]
[USERNAME REDACTED] June 15, 2022, 7:55pm
MANYCAM 8 is a Rip Off-!!!
For all of us who have supported this company with a Premium Lifetime Subscription, of which I had purchased two, I feel very let down that my subscription of a ‘Premium Lifetime’ does not apply to version 8? Yet, for all the other versions up until v7 and its updates it applied. I cant work this one out. How can they charge for a Lifetime Subscription, which at the time included ALL FUTURE UPDATES, now not count with version 8.
Am I the only one who has fallen fowl of this Company? It seems they are Judge, Jury and Executioner when it comes to changing their policies, forgetting their loyal customers who paid good money for them to exist. If this is how they treat their loyal customers, just think what they must be like to work for! I pity their employees. If nothing else, ManyCam has FAILED to honour all customers who purchased a Premium Lifetime Subscription! Shame on you!!!
Another customer agreed with the "AmazingCTO"'s assessment and proposal that Paltalk should honor their previous customers' Lifetime licenses by grandfathering them in:[7]
[USERNAME REDACTED] August 12, 2022, 9:35am
This is NOT the way you treat your customers.
The correct way would be to grandfather in Lifetime subscribers and let the new subscription model be for new users. Or AT LEAST give us a minimum of 10 year free use.
I have bought Studio Lifetime and upgraded to Premium Lifetime. And do not even get a full year of use before I need to convert to a subscription to continue to get updates?
I do believe my lifetime is more than ONE YEAR!!
Indeed, as "AmazingCTO" and this user observed, most human beings would concur that a "lifetime" is a span of time much greater than one year. As such, these customers perceived Paltalk to be disingenuous by not honoring the "lifetime" license agreement.