Programs · Nonprofits and newsrooms

Nonprofits, newsrooms and journalists: three months free.

Small teams make a lot of video. If you work for a registered nonprofit or a newsroom, or you report as a journalist, you get the same licence as students and teachers: full Throughline for three months at no cost, extendable once to six.

Apply Start the 14-day free trial

macOS 14 or later · Apple silicon · every feature runs twice on your own footage

What you get

A full licence for three months, free. Not the trial: multicam sync, on-device transcription, transcript search, captions and export to Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve run without trial limits, on one Mac.
One exception, stated plainly. Some features run in trial mode on this licence: the deposition features (burn-in and delivery, and page:line exports), file recovery, watch folders and sensor cleanup. They work exactly as they do in the free trial: each export covers the first 60 seconds, video is a 720p proof with an overlay, and each can be used twice. Everything else runs in full.
One extension. Ask before your licence ends and we extend it once, to six months in total.
Then it ends, unless you choose to pay. Before it runs out we send you an offer to carry on with a paid subscription: 30% off for your first year. If you do nothing, it simply stops. No card was taken, so nothing is charged.

The limits on this licence

It works on one Mac. One named person, one Mac.
One education licence per person per year. The one extension to six months is part of it.
Some features run in trial mode. On this licence, the deposition features (burn-in and delivery, and page:line exports), file recovery, watch folders and sensor cleanup run with the trial's limits: the first 60 seconds, a 720p proof with an overlay, and two uses each.
Expanded access is by request. If your course, production or story needs more, ask for expanded access. We grant it case by case.

Each licence is for one named person on one Mac. An organisation can have up to 5 people on this program at once.

Who it is for

US 501(c)(3) organisations, and registered charities elsewhere, whose work includes video.
Nonprofit newsrooms and student newsrooms. A student newsroom can also apply through education.
Working journalists with published bylines.

How to apply

Fill in the form below. Nonprofits: include your EIN or charity number. Journalists: link a page that shows your bylines.
We look the registration up in the public register, or read your bylines. We ask for no documents. We reply within two business days with one code per person.
Each person opens the nonprofit checkout, enters their code and completes the order. The total is zero and no card is asked for.
Polar emails an order confirmation. Choose Access purchase to see the licence key, then download Throughline, open Settings → License and paste it.

Apply

Expanded access

If a course, a production or a story needs one of the trial-mode features in full, or a second Mac, tell us what and why. A person reads each request and we grant it case by case, usually for a set project and period.

Private by default

Throughline runs on your Mac. Transcription runs on your machine and nothing is uploaded; anything that would leave the Mac needs your explicit consent. It works offline and checks its licence in every 30 days. Activation sends the licence key, the app version, the chip model and a random install id, and nothing about you or your files.

Honest limits

It is time-limited. Three months, or six with the one extension. Then it stops unless you subscribe.
Some features stay in trial mode. On this licence, the deposition features (burn-in and delivery, and page:line exports), file recovery, watch folders and sensor cleanup are limited exactly as in the free trial, unless we grant expanded access.
One Mac, one licence a year. Each licence works on one Mac, and each person gets one per year.
We need something we can look up. We cannot serve an organisation without a registration in a public register, or a journalist without public bylines.
Programs are capped. We keep them small enough that every licence holder still gets a reply within 24 hours when something breaks. Applications are read by a person, so a busy week can be slow.
Free licences are for the stated use. We can end one that is resold or shared beyond its holder.
Recovery covers the cameras we list. The supported cameras and formats are on the recovery pages. It is not a fix for any damaged video.
Mac only. macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon. It needs to reach the internet once every 30 days to check its licence.
The free trial is separate and unchanged. Anyone can start it without applying.

Apply Start the 14-day free trial

macOS 14 or later · Apple silicon · every feature runs twice on your own footage

Questions

Who qualifies?

Registered nonprofits and charities whose work includes video, nonprofit and student newsrooms, and working journalists with published bylines.

How do you verify us?

We look your registration up in the public register, or read your bylines. We ask for no documents.

Which features run in trial mode?

The deposition features (burn-in and delivery, and page:line exports), file recovery, watch folders and sensor cleanup. They work exactly as they do in the free trial: each export covers the first 60 seconds, video is a 720p proof with an overlay, and each can be used twice. Everything else runs in full.

What happens after three months?

The licence ends on its own. Ask us before then and we extend it once, to six months in total. Near the end we send an offer to continue on a paid subscription (30% off for your first year); if you do nothing, nothing is charged.

Do we need a card now?

No. The order total is zero.

Can I use it on paid client work?

Nothing forbids it, but the trial mode limits it plainly: on this licence the deposition features, file recovery, watch folders and sensor cleanup only ever produce the first 60 seconds, as a 720p proof with an overlay. For client work with those tools, subscribe.

What limits apply to this licence?

It works on one Mac. One education licence per person per year. The deposition features, file recovery, watch folders and sensor cleanup run in trial mode: the first 60 seconds, a 720p proof with an overlay, and two uses each. You can ask for expanded access, which we grant case by case.

What do you keep about us?

Your form answers, the date and your country: for 45 days if we decline, or for the length of the licence if we accept.