I've been using Unraid for many years and I'm still running a legacy Pro license. I chose Unraid very deliberately because it was a self-hosted operating system: I buy the software, install it on my own hardware, and decide myself what I run on that hardware.

I'm following the development of Unraid 8 with a lot of interest. There are several things I genuinely like about the direction, especially native Docker Compose and the move towards a more modern underlying platform.

However, there is one aspect of the Unraid 8 direction that increasingly concerns me: the gradual integration of the Unraid account, Community Apps, backup functionality and other services into the core user experience.

I understand why Unraid wants to make these things easier and more consistent. But I would really like some clarity about where the boundary is between Unraid OS itself and Unraid's online services/ecosystem.

For me, an Unraid server should ideally be able to operate completely locally.

I don't need Unraid Cloud. I don't need remote management through Unraid's infrastructure. I don't need my server to depend on an Unraid account for day-to-day operation. If I want remote access, backups, monitoring or other services, I already have the ability to build and host those myself.

That's actually one of the reasons I run an Unraid server in the first place.

What concerns me is the possibility of a gradual shift from:

"Unraid is a self-hosted OS."

towards:

"Unraid is a self-hosted OS, but increasingly useful functionality is tied to an Unraid account or online services."

The distinction is important, especially for users with legacy lifetime Pro licenses.

I understand that existing Basic/Plus/Pro licenses are grandfathered and retain lifetime OS updates. That's great, and I appreciate that commitment.

But "lifetime OS updates" and "lifetime access to all future functionality" are not necessarily the same thing.

For example, if a future version of Unraid introduces a significantly improved Backup system, Community Apps integration, application management, or other functionality, will those features remain part of the locally installed Unraid OS and therefore be available to existing lifetime Pro users?

Or could functionality increasingly be split into:

• Unraid OS itself — covered by the lifetime license

• Unraid account features — potentially separate

• cloud/remote services — potentially subscription-based

• premium functionality built around Community Apps — potentially separate

I'm not saying that Unraid is definitely going down this road. I haven't seen an official statement saying that Community Apps or Backup will become paid services.

But looking at the direction over the last few years, I think it's a reasonable question to ask now rather than after the ecosystem has already changed.

I'd also really like to see a strong commitment that:

1. Local server management will remain possible without an Unraid account.

2. The core OS will remain fully functional without an internet connection after licensing/activation.

3. Community Apps will remain usable without an Unraid cloud dependency.

4. Docker/Compose workloads will remain standard Docker/Compose workloads that users can manage independently.

5. Backup functionality will not require users to use an Unraid-controlled cloud service.

6. An Unraid account remains optional for people who don't want Connect/cloud/remote-management features.

Native Docker Compose is actually a very positive development from my perspective, because it potentially makes Unraid less dependent on Unraid-specific templates and plugins. I would love to see that philosophy extended further: use open standards wherever possible and let Unraid be the excellent infrastructure layer underneath them.

I don't want Unraid to become another platform where I technically own the hardware and run the software locally, but increasingly need an online account to access the features that make the platform useful.

I genuinely like Unraid and have used it for years. That's exactly why I'm raising this concern.

I'd much rather hear a clear statement from Lime Technology now that the Unraid account and online services will remain optional, rather than find out several years from now that the platform has gradually moved in the opposite direction.

For me, the greatest strength of Unraid has always been:

My server. My hardware. My data. My services. My choice.

I hope Unraid 8 continues to build on that philosophy rather than slowly moving away from it.

Hi @Qballjos !

Thank you so much for raising this concern, we take these kinds of comments really seriously and want to make sure that you understand how Unraid is approaching these sorts of concerns!

I agree that there needs to be a clear distinction between Unraid OS and the optional online services around it.

Our direction for Unraid 8 is to keep an Unraid account optional for local server operation and management. Preserving the ability to run your server locally, without depending on our infrastructure or an ongoing internet connection after licensing and activation, is a fundamental implementation requirement—not something we intend to gradually move away from.

Unraid 8 does intend to bring more systems into a consistent, integrated user experience. But better integration must not mean mandatory participation. We want to make these features easier to discover and use for people who find them valuable, while respecting the choice of users who prefer to manage everything locally or use their own alternatives. Not using our online services should be a supported choice, not something you have to work around.

On privacy, I want to be explicit: we will not collect telemetry without your explicit opt-in. Any telemetry system we introduce will be disabled by default and fully optional. Its purpose will be to improve the experience for users, with a clear explanation of what is collected and why, and the ability to turn it off again. Signing into an account or upgrading Unraid should not be treated as consent to telemetry, and declining it should not restrict local functionality.

I also want to be precise about “phoning home.” An online feature necessarily communicates with other systems to do what you’ve asked it to do—for example, downloading an update or using a remote service. That is different from silently reporting how you use your server or requiring it to check in with us to keep functioning. Our commitment is to preserve local operation independently of those optional services, without unsolicited telemetry.

The same principle guides application management and backups: making them easier to use should not mean taking away control of your workloads or forcing you to store your data with us.

Your ability to own, control, and run your own server is central to what Unraid is. We want Unraid 8 to improve that experience, not compromise the independence that made you choose it in the first place.

So to recap, we don’t plan to compromise on privacy. Almost everyone who works at the company is an Unraid user just like you, and we all dislike how much telemetry and data collection is happening in other products we use, we will make sure we don’t go down this path with Unraid OS!

Hi @elibosley !,

Thank you very much for the detailed and thoughtful response. I really appreciate you taking the time to address my concerns so explicitly.

This is exactly the kind of clarification I was hoping for, especially regarding local operation, the optional nature of an Unraid account, the lack of mandatory telemetry, and keeping control of our own workloads and data. Those points are very important to me, and it’s reassuring to hear that they are considered fundamental requirements for Unraid 8 rather than simply nice-to-have features.

I also appreciate the clarification around backups and application management. I completely understand the desire to make these things easier and more integrated while still allowing users to remain fully self-hosted.

There is just one point I’d like to clarify further, because it is still a little unclear to me from the wording of the response.

When you refer to “application management and backups”, is it the intention that services such as the Community Applications store/catalog and its core functionality could become part of a paid service or subscription in the future?

I’m specifically thinking about the ability to browse, install and manage community applications locally — not optional cloud, remote-management or other online functionality.

In other words, will the core Community Applications experience remain available to existing legacy Pro/Lifetime users without requiring an Unraid account or an additional subscription, or is this one of the areas where Unraid is considering introducing a paid service in the future?

I’m not assuming that this is the plan; I’m asking because the distinction is important to me and the previous answer didn’t quite make that part clear.

Again, thank you for taking the concern seriously and for providing such a detailed response. The commitment to keeping local, independent operation at the heart of Unraid is exactly what I wanted to hear.

Edited September 12Sep 12 by Qballjos

In other words, will the core Community Applications experience remain available to existing legacy Pro/Lifetime users without requiring an Unraid account or an additional subscription, or is this one of the areas where Unraid is considering introducing a paid service in the future?

We will not restrict access to community applications, we intend to keep it a free add-on to the OS. CA is one of the best parts about Unraid, restricting it behind a paywall would be a bad experience for everyone!

If we charge for something it would be a service for us to provide you cloud storage to backup to, not in the form of restricting the backup feature unless you pay - this distinction is very important in my opinion - I don't want to restrict base features of the OS behind a paywall, I'd like to allow us to make your life easier by providing a one-click backup target in the future, but in U8 we'll be providing support for hundreds of backup targets that you can bring yourself!

Please keep bringing these concerns to us, we really appreciate the forum and space to provide clarification!

Well, I have to say that this is actually a very reassuring answer.

This is exactly the kind of clarification I was hoping for. The explicit statement that Community Applications will remain a free add-on to the OS and will not be restricted behind a paywall removes probably my biggest concern.

I also really appreciate the distinction you made regarding backups. I'm completely fine with Unraid potentially offering paid cloud storage as an optional service, as long as the backup functionality itself remains available and users are free to choose their own backup targets. That's a very different proposition from putting the backup functionality behind a subscription.

More importantly, I appreciate that this time the answer was very specific. My concern was never that Unraid should never offer paid services. It's perfectly reasonable for a company to charge for services it actually provides. My concern was whether core functionality that has traditionally been part of the Unraid experience could gradually become dependent on an account or subscription.

Based on your answer, at least regarding Community Applications and backups, that concern is now much clearer.

I still think it's important for long-time and legacy license holders to keep asking these questions as Unraid 8 develops, simply because the platform is going through some pretty significant changes. But I also think it's important to acknowledge when Unraid addresses those concerns properly, and I think this is a good example of that.

So thank you for taking the time to answer this directly. This is exactly the kind of communication that helps build confidence in the direction Unraid is taking.