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GPL License & Commercial Terms

Instaconsole & Address Assistant

Applies to:

  • Instaconsole (Lite / Pro / Premier)

  • Address Assistant (Requires Google Maps API) (Lite / Pro / Premier)

Last updated: 11 September 2025
This page is practical guidance, not legal advice.

TL;DR

  • All editions of our plugins are released under GNU GPL v2 or later. You keep the GPL freedoms to use, study, modify, and redistribute the code you receive. We keep the copyright in our original code.

  • Lite (on WordPress.org) is 100% GPL and may be copied/forked.

  • Pro and Premier are sold on instaconsole.com. The code is still GPL, but your purchase gives access to downloads, automatic updates, and support from us.

  • Our license key checks once per day. After expiry, you get a 14-day grace period; then updates & support stop. Your installed plugin keeps working.

1) The software license (GPL)

All editions of the plugins are licensed to you under the GNU General Public License, version 2 (GPLv2) or any later version.

What the GPL lets you do:

  • Use the plugin for any purpose, on any number of sites.

  • Study the source code and modify it.

  • Redistribute original or modified versions.

  • If you redistribute a modified version, you must also license that code under GPLv2 or later and retain appropriate copyright & license notices.

Copyright: We (the authors) retain copyright in our original code. GPL is a copyright license that grants you the freedoms above; it does not transfer ownership.

2) WordPress.org ā€œLiteā€ editions

  • The Lite versions hosted on WordPress.org are 100% GPL.

  • Everything in the wp.org repository (PHP, JS, CSS, images bundled there) is GPL or GPL-compatible.

  • We do not ship encrypted/obfuscated code in Lite.

3) Pro & Premier (sold on instaconsole.com)

  • The plugin code remains GPL.

  • Your purchase grants commercial services from us:
    1. Download access and automatic updates from our servers,

    2. Support via our help desk, within the term purchased, and

    3. Any stated extras (e.g., templates, priority responses).

These services are separate from your GPL rights in the code you already have.

3.1 License key & grace period

  • The plugin performs a once-daily license check with our update server.

  • If the license expires, we allow a 14-day grace period where updates & support continue.

  • After the grace period, your installed plugin continues to function, but:
    • You will not receive new updates/upgrades (including security/compatibility updates).

    • Support access ends until you renew.

The license key only controls access to our servers (updates/support). It does not limit the GPL freedoms in the code you already received.

3.2 Modifications & forks of Pro/Premier

  • You may modify or fork the plugin under the GPL.

  • Modified or forked copies are not entitled to our updates or support unless covered by an active key and connected to our update service.

  • You may not use our trademarks/branding in a way that suggests your fork is our official product (see Ā§6).

4) Address Assistant & Google Maps API

Address Assistant integrates with Google Maps Platform (e.g., Places/Geocoding). This involves two separate layers:

  • Plugin code (GPL): Our PHP/JS code remains GPL as above.

  • Third-party service terms: Use of Google Maps APIs is governed by Googleā€™s terms, billing, quotas, and privacy rules. The plugin does not grant you a Google license.
    • You must supply your own API key and ensure compliance with Googleā€™s terms.

    • Do not hard-code a shared key into any redistribution.

    • If Google changes pricing/quotas, that is outside our control.

5) Third-party components

If we bundle third-party libraries or assets, they remain under their original licenses (which are GPL-compatible for code we ship within the plugins). We list such components and their licenses in each pluginā€™s readme. Assets such as fonts or images may carry permissive or Creative Commons licenses; those terms apply to those assets.

6) Trademarks & branding

Our brand names, product names, logos, and site copy are protected by trademark and / or copyright.

  • You may redistribute code under the GPL, but you must remove or replace our branding in a way that avoids confusion about origin or endorsement.

  • Factual references (e.g., ā€œfork of Instaconsoleā€) are allowed, provided they donā€™t imply our sponsorship.

7) Updates & support scope

  • Updates include bug fixes, security patches, compatibility updates, and new features delivered via our update server to installations with an active license key.

  • Support is available to covered customers during posted business hours (see contact section).

  • With a lapsed key (post-grace): you may keep using your installed version; updates/support are paused.

We strongly recommend keeping updates active for security and future WordPress/PHP compatibility.

8) Privacy & data used for license checks

During the daily check, the plugin may transmit minimal technical data to our server, such as:

  • Site URL/domain, plugin name & version

  • WordPress & PHP versions (for compatibility)

  • Anonymised or hashed license key and installation ID

We do not collect site content through this process. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

9) Acceptable use & fair usage

Updates/support are provided for the number of sites and term covered by your plan. Abuse of endpoints or attempts to bypass the update system may result in rate-limiting of update requests. Your GPL license to the code you already have remains unaffected.

10) Notes for developers & agencies

  • You may include the plugin in client projects.

  • If you redistribute Pro/Premier code, you must keep it GPL and preserve notices.

  • Your recipients will not receive our updates/support unless they purchase coverage or you maintain a separate support arrangement.

  • Please do not embed our premium update endpoints in your own distributions.

11) How we declare the license in the plugins

Add this to the main plugin file (both plugins):

/*
Plugin Name: Instaconsole            // or: Address Assistant (Requires Google Map API)
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html
*/

In each pluginā€™s readme.txt:

License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Where we ship minified JS/CSS, we include the preferred form for modification (unminified source) in the package or repository.

12) Contact

Questions about licensing, updates, or support?

Appendix ā€” What GPL means in practice (plain English)

  • You can sell GPL software (we do for Pro/Premier).

  • GPL obligations trigger on distribution (when you give or sell the code to someone else).

  • Copyleft means that if you distribute a modified version, it must remain GPL.

  • SaaS is separate: features running on our servers can have service terms; the plugin code that calls those services remains GPL.

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