October 20th, 2024

Concerns Raised over Bitwarden Moving Further Away from Open-Source

Bitwarden is criticized for straying from open-source principles due to a new SDK dependency limiting use to its applications. Concerns about its free software classification have emerged, with public discourse restricted.

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Concerns Raised over Bitwarden Moving Further Away from Open-Source

Concerns have emerged regarding Bitwarden's shift away from open-source principles, particularly following a recent pull request that introduced a new dependency for building the desktop client. This dependency includes a clause that restricts its use to Bitwarden applications only, raising questions about the software's classification as free software. Users have expressed their worries on GitHub, highlighting that the SDK's licensing terms may prevent its use in non-Bitwarden applications. Bitwarden's founder and CTO, Kyle Spearrin, responded to these concerns, clarifying that the SDK and the client are separate programs and that the issue is a bug they plan to resolve. However, the GitHub ticket discussing these issues has since been locked, limiting further public discourse. The situation has sparked a broader discussion about the future of Bitwarden and its commitment to open-source software.

- Bitwarden faces criticism for moving away from open-source principles.

- A new SDK dependency restricts usage to Bitwarden applications only.

- Concerns were raised on GitHub regarding the software's classification as free software.

- Bitwarden's CTO clarified that the SDK and client are separate programs.

- The GitHub discussion has been locked, limiting public input on the issue.

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