After you purchase Confidant, you'll receive a license key by email. Activate it once, and Confidant works on your machine.
During onboarding
The activation step is part of the new-install onboarding wizard. When you reach it:
Paste your license key
Confirm the machine name (auto-filled from your computer)
Click Activate
If activation succeeds, you'll see a "Welcome to Confidant!" confirmation and continue to the main app.
After onboarding
If you skipped activation during onboarding (or are activating on a new install):
Open Settings (gear icon in the sidebar, or ⌘,)
Switch to the Account tab
Click Activate License
Paste your key and machine name
Click Activate
What activation does
It contacts our license server once to confirm your key is valid and that your subscription is active. The check sends only your license key. No patient data, no usage info.
The server returns your subscription status — what's active, when update coverage expires, etc. — and Confidant stores this locally. After this single online check, the app works fully offline (with a yearly silent re-check to confirm your subscription is still active).
What happens if activation fails
Common reasons:
Wrong key. Double-check the key from your purchase email — copy-paste rather than typing.
Key already active on another device. A license can only have one active install at a time. Deactivate on the previous device first (Settings → Account → License → Deactivate), then activate on the new one. If you no longer have access to the previous device, contact support and we can deactivate it server-side.
Subscription expired or canceled. The error message will say so. Renew via your account on the Confidant website.
You're offline. Activation requires a one-time network call. Connect to the internet and retry.
Where the license key lives after activation
In your local Confidant install. We don't make you re-enter it. If you ever need it for your records, find it in Settings → Account → License.
Moving your license between devices
You can install Confidant on any device you own — a desktop, a laptop, both. The constraint is that only one install can be active at a time per license.
To switch:
On the device you're leaving, open Settings → Account → License → Deactivate
On the device you're moving to, follow the activation steps above
Each device keeps its own local data folder (patients, sessions, notes), so deactivating doesn't touch any of that — it just frees the license to be activated elsewhere.
If you genuinely need two devices active simultaneously (e.g. always-on desktop and a roaming laptop, used at the same time), you'll need a second license. Contact support — we can help.