# Bitwarden switches official app builds to commercial license, keeps GPLv3 on GitHub

> **Key takeaway:** Bitwarden's official store and website downloads will use a commercial license starting with the next release, while the GPLv3 codebase remains available on GitHub with potential future feature divergence.

**Published:** 2026-10-19T20:16:39+00:00 
**Source:** Linuxiac 
**Category:** distro-news 
**Canonical URL:** https://fosswire.org/news/bitwarden-switches-official-app-builds-to-commercial-license.html 

## Summary
Bitwarden has announced that applications distributed through Google Play, Apple's App Store, browser extension marketplaces, and its own website will switch to a commercial license starting with the next release. The GPLv3 version will continue to be developed and published on GitHub, where users can inspect, contribute, and fork the code. Some upcoming components, primarily enterprise and competitive features, will be released exclusively under the commercial license, with new features evaluated case by case for licensing. Self-hosting and third-party compatible implementations are unaffected.

## What changes and what stays open
- **Official builds**: Store downloads and website binaries switch to Bitwarden's commercial license starting next release
- **GPLv3 source**: Full codebase remains on GitHub with inspection, contribution, and forking rights intact
- **Feature divergence**: New enterprise features, competitive capabilities, and some premium features may be commercial-only; decisions made case by case
- **Self-hosting**: No change to self-hosted deployments or compatible third-party implementations
- **Commercial components**: Will remain publicly viewable but without guaranteed modification/redistribution rights

## Why it matters
The move creates a clear split between "open source" and "official" Bitwarden, potentially complicating trust for security-conscious users who relied on license uniformity. It may also accelerate interest in forks like Vaultwarden if feature gaps emerge.