Tend
Pro and accounts

Licenses, accounts and Macs

Tend Pro works on up to 3 Macs. A Tend account makes that automatic; a license key works too.

Updated 11 October 2026 · Accounts arrive in Tend 0.9.2

Do I need an account?

No. Tend's free features never need one, and during the public beta Pro is unlocked for everyone without signing in.

An account is the easiest way to use Pro once you've bought it. Sign in on each Mac and Pro is there, with no keys to copy. On your account page you can see your plan and your Macs, remove a Mac you no longer use, and manage billing.

Signing in

In Tend, open Settings and choose Sign in. On the web, go to tendmac.app/account. There are three ways in, and no passwords:

  • Email code. Enter your email address and we send a 6-digit code. It works for 10 minutes. If it doesn't arrive within a minute or two, check your spam folder. After several wrong tries on an address in one day, the code is 10 letters and numbers instead, so nobody can guess it; type it with or without the dash.
  • Sign in with Apple. Opens Apple's sign-in. If you choose Hide My Email, Apple gives us a private relay address instead of your real one.
  • Sign in with Google. Opens Google's sign-in. We use your Google account's verified email address and name.

If you sign in with Apple or Google and that service's email matches an account you already have, you land in the same account when Apple or Google runs that address: Gmail, a Google Workspace address, iCloud, or Apple's Hide My Email. For any other address (for example a work address on your Apple ID), Apple and Google can't vouch that it's still yours today, so sign in with an email code, then link Apple or Google on your account page under Signing in. Linking works within 10 minutes of signing in. The same section lists the Apple and Google sign-ins on your account and lets you unlink them.

Use the email you bought with. Purchases are linked to accounts by email address. If you bought Tend with one address and signed in with another (for example an Apple private relay address), link your license yourself: see License keys below.

Using Pro on up to 3 Macs

Each Pro license covers up to 3 Macs that you use. When you sign in on a Mac, Tend adds it to your license and turns Pro on. Your account page lists each Mac by its name and model, when it was added and when it was last seen.

If your license is already on 3 Macs, Tend tells you. Remove one you no longer use on your account page or in Tend › Settings › Account, then try again.

Moving Pro to a new Mac

  1. Go to your account page and sign in.
  2. Under your Macs, remove the one you no longer use.
  3. On the new Mac, open Tend › Settings and sign in.

Removing a Mac also signs it out of your account. Each license can free a Mac slot up to 10 times in 30 days, counting removals on your account page and Deactivate this Mac together. The limit stops one license being passed around; if you hit it for a good reason, email us.

Selling, giving away or lost a Mac? Remove it from your account: that frees its slot and signs it out of your account. Then sign out of Tend on it, or erase the Mac. To be sure, use Sign out everywhere else on your account page.

License keys

Every purchase also comes with a license key that looks like TEND-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX. You'll find it on the page you see after checkout and in the email we send from hello@tendmac.app. Your receipt comes separately, from Paddle.

  • Activate with a key: in Tend, open the plans window from Settings, choose I have a license key, then paste it.
  • Link a key to your account: on your account page, add the key. Its Macs and plan then appear in your account. A key can belong to only one account.
  • Move a key-activated Mac: in Tend › Settings, choose Deactivate this Mac, then activate the key on the new Mac. With a key on its own, you can move it up to 3 times in 30 days.

Your account page shows keys partly hidden, for example TEND-ABCDE-•••••-•••••-•••••. Keep the full key from your receipt somewhere safe.

Working offline

Tend checks your license with our server in the background and keeps a signed license token on your Mac, so Pro keeps working without a connection. Tokens last up to 7 days for subscriptions and up to 30 days for Lifetime, and Tend renews them on its own when you're online. If a Mac stays offline longer than that, Pro keeps working for a further 7 days, then pauses until Tend can check in again.

Billing, renewals and canceling

  • Manage billing from your account page or from Tend › Settings. It opens Paddle's customer portal, where you can update your payment method, download invoices or cancel.
  • Subscriptions renew automatically until you cancel. After canceling, Pro keeps working until the end of the period you've paid for.
  • If a renewal payment fails, Paddle retries it for up to about two weeks, and Pro keeps working while it does.
  • Refunds: ask within 14 days of any charge. See terms and refunds.

Signing out and deleting your account

  • Sign out in Tend › Settings or on your account page. Signing out of the website doesn't sign out your Macs; Sign out everywhere else on your account page does. Sign-ins also end on their own 30 days after you last used them, and 180 days after you signed in at the latest.
  • Delete your account from your account page, within 10 minutes of signing in (sign in again if it's been longer). We delete your account, your sign-in links and sessions, your founding-list entry and your contact record at our email provider straight away. Licenses are kept, unlinked from your account, because purchases need a record for billing and tax. The Macs registered to them keep their place on the license, but their names and models are erased. To free those places too, remove the Macs under your Macs before you delete your account, or email us.

Deleting your account doesn't cancel a subscription. Cancel it first in Manage billing, so you aren't charged again.

Common messages

"This key is already active on 3 Macs"

Remove a Mac on your account page or in Tend › Settings › Account, or choose Deactivate this Mac in Settings on one of the 3, then try again.

"This license has moved between Macs as often as it can this month"

A license key on its own can move between Macs 3 times in 30 days, and a license on an account 10 times. Wait a few days, or email us and we'll help.

"This license has expired"

The subscription has ended or the purchase was refunded. Choose a plan to renew, or email us if you think it's a mistake.

I signed in but Pro didn't turn on

Your account may not have a license yet, or your purchase used a different email. Add your license key on the account page, or email us with the address you bought with.