Bitdefender Free says goodbye forever at the end of 2021

Bitdefender Free is one of the most popular security solutions for Windows, a free antivirus with a not inconsiderable path behind it that, however, will be withdrawn from circulation shortly and forever, as announced by the company that develops it.

We are talking about Bitdefender, the Romanian security firm that has made an important niche in the industry with its malware protection products, especially in the last decade. And one of the gateways to their premium solutions has, of course, been Bitdefender Free.

Bitdefender Free, however, says goodbye to the public this 2021: the official downloads of Bitdefender Free have already been removed from the company’s page, although there is the possibility of continuing to install the application in other ways. Be that as it may, it will be on December 31, 2021, when Bitdefender Free is permanently withdrawn from circulation.

What will happen to current Bitdefender Free users? The company has prepared everything to cause the least possible inconvenience. Those who are already using the application will be able to continue doing so until June 30, 2022, when their support ends, or what is the same, when they stop receiving updates. And as an antivirus that is not updated is useless …

In turn, a special offer has been advanced for those who wish to make the leap from Bitdefender Free to Bitdefender Total Security, the company’s flagship and payment solution. This offer will be sent to the email address each Bitdefender Free user registered.

Why did Bitdefender Free end? It could be argued that Microsoft Defender’s push is making it very difficult for companies that develop free security solutions -and paid, as we are-, which is true; but that is not the reason given by Bitdefender:

“We constantly review our product portfolio to ensure that the technologies we bundle into these products are sufficient to keep the user safe in all circumstances. Unfortunately, our free antivirus product no longer meets our highest standards,” explains one of the company’s representatives on official forums.

However, the end of Bitdefender Free refers only to the Windows application; Android and iOS apps, which are also available, will continue to be known, at least for the time being.