BASALT · JOURNAL
Software updates, lock in, and what happens if a vendor stops
Every tool in a professional workflow carries a question that rarely gets asked until it matters: what happens to my work if this software stops being available.
The subscription model
Continuous updates, delivered as part of the fee. Genuinely valuable, and the reason the model exists. New capability arrives without a purchase decision.
The risk is that access depends on the subscription continuing. A lapsed payment, a changed licensing policy or a discontinued product means the software stops working, and documents already produced remain readable while the ability to produce more does not.
For PDF specifically this risk is mild, because the format is an open standard with many implementations. The lock in is in workflow and training rather than in the files.
The perpetual model
Software that keeps working. It does not gain new capability without a new purchase, and it eventually falls behind operating system changes.
That last point is the real limitation and it is worth stating plainly: a perpetual licence for a macOS application is good until an OS release breaks it, and whether it gets fixed depends on the developer still being there.
The question to ask either way
Not "will this vendor survive" but "if this stopped working tomorrow, what would I lose".
For a PDF tool the honest answer is usually: some workflow familiarity and some time. Documents are in an open format, readable by many applications. That is a considerably better position than for tools with proprietary formats, where the answer can be the work itself.
Auto update, and a disclosure
Basalt has no automatic update mechanism at present. A user who downloaded an earlier version has no way to learn a newer one exists other than visiting the site.
That is a real limitation, it is the kind of thing usually left out of a comparison, and it is worth knowing before choosing. Acrobat's update mechanism is mature and works well.
What to do practically
Keep installers for versions that work. Keep documents in the format they arrived in. Do not build a workflow that depends on a single tool's specific behaviour, and verify outputs independently, which incidentally also means you can change tools without changing your confidence in the result.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if a subscription lapses?
The software stops working, though documents already produced remain readable. For PDF the risk is mild because the format is an open standard with many implementations, so the lock in is in workflow familiarity rather than in the files.
What is the risk with perpetual licences?
They do not gain new capability without another purchase, and they eventually break on a new operating system release. Whether that gets fixed depends on the developer still being active.
Does Basalt update automatically?
No. There is currently no automatic update mechanism, so someone running an older version has no way to learn a newer one exists other than visiting the website. That is a genuine limitation worth knowing before choosing.
How do I reduce dependence on any one PDF tool?
Keep documents in the format they arrived in, keep installers for versions that work, and verify outputs independently rather than relying on a specific tool's behaviour. Independent verification also means changing tools does not change your confidence in the result.
Doing it in Basalt
Basalt is a native macOS PDF toolkit with eighteen tools in one window: merge, split, compress, OCR, Bates numbering, privilege logs, forms, signing, watermarks, comparison and more. Redaction destroys content rather than covering it, and an independent verifier re-opens every written file and proves the material is gone before the file is saved. If it cannot prove it, nothing is written. A one time $29 licence covers up to three Macs, it is free for the first 24 hours, there is no account, and the engine holds no network entitlement at all, which macOS enforces at the code-signature level. Download it at basaltformac.com.
Redaction that proves itself
Basalt destroys the content you mark, then re-opens the file it wrote and proves the content is gone before it saves anything. Your documents never leave your Mac.