How licensing works in Safetica

Safetica utilizes user-based licensing to protect users who work with data. Learn how user-based licensing works, how are user accounts detected, and what is actually considered a "user account".

Article last updated: June 2024.

In this article, you will learn:

• What is user-based licensing
• How are user accounts detected and protected in Safetica
• What is considered “a user account” and how are licenses assigned
• FAQ

Introduction: What is user-based licensing

Many industries are shifting from using company devices to hybrid environments, so the “user account” (identity) is becoming the central point. For this reason, the licensing of Safetica is user-based and the customers themselves decide which users they want to protect. These users are licensed, and the customer only pays for them.

How are user accounts detected and protected in Safetica

Safetica detects active user accounts (not active devices), which means:

1. Local accounts or Active Directory accounts that performed an action on a device with installed Safetica Client. 
2. Accounts synced from Entra ID that performed an action.

• If the user comes from Active Directory: they will appear in the appropriate Active Directory organizational unit.
• If the user is detected after using a device with installed Safetica Client: they will be assigned into the Unknown team. Policies set up for the Unknown team will start applying to them.

What is considered “a user account” and how are licenses assigned

Safetica counts the number of user accounts and licenses like this:

• A local user account = 1 account = 1 license
• A local user account that appears on multiple devices = 1 account = 1 license
• Multiple local accounts on the same device = multiple accounts = multiple licenses
• System accounts = not licensed and not protected by default = 0 licenses
• User account synced from AD = 1 account = 1 license
• User account synced from Entra ID = 1 account = 1 license

Terminal servers: the use case is the same as for multiple accounts on one device. That means:

• Multiple local accounts connecting to a terminal server = multiple accounts = multiple licenses

Example: A user who works on several devices under one account is considered one user account in Safetica and consumes one license. A user that works on one device under a local account and under an unpaired Active Directory account is considered two user accounts in Safetica and consumes two licenses.

FAQ