Answer of Bitwarden founder:
Thanks for sharing your concerns here. We have been progressing use of our SDK in more use cases for our clients. However, our goal is to make sure that the SDK is used in a way that maintains GPL compatibility.
- the SDK and the client are two separate programs
- code for each program is in separate repositories
- the fact that the two programs communicate using standard protocols does not mean they are one program for purposes of GPLv3
Being able to build the app as you are trying to do here is an issue we plan to resolve and is merely a bug.
the fact that the two programs communicate using standard protocols does not mean they are one program for purposes of GPLv3
The fact that they would even think about attempting to subvert the GPL (much less actually pulling through with it) makes me think they have stopped being an open source company a while ago.
That VC money was the start of the end. No reassurance can be trusted the moment a company accepts VC funding. It’s only a matter of time until Bitwarden makes their next enshittification move.
This is example 4664336 of a for profit company pulling the rug from underneath an open source project. It’a becomes a genuine risk as every time the mask comes off, you know it’s going to be ugly.
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After this and the few hiccups I’ve had with Bitwarden on Linux (official snap in part still relies on Ubuntu 18.04 libraries and still defaults to X11, not great for security focused app), I’ve decided to give Proton a shot. Went for 2 year unlimited plan, so I hope they don’t do anything stupid in that time.
That being said, I’m not hating on Bitwarden. Based on what one of the developers said, this seems to be an oversight from their side that they should hopefully address. This is just my excuse to try out the Proton suite based on their strong focus on privacy and security, albeit with a hefty cost (and somewhat scummy strategy of listing prices as monthly but are actually paid annually, and choosing the actually monthly options are much more expensive).
