Tired of TeamViewer kicking you out every 5 minutes?
GoDesk has no session timeout. No commercial-use detection. No paywall. Free for 30 devices, end-to-end encrypted, open source under AGPL-3.0. Connect once and stay connected for as long as you need, minutes, hours, or days.
Why TeamViewer disconnects you
TeamViewer's "commercial-use detection"
TeamViewer's free tier runs heuristics that look at how often you connect, how many endpoints you touch, and whether your IP space looks corporate. Once flagged, and the flag fires on plenty of legitimate personal use, you're capped at 5-minute sessions and pushed toward a $31/month subscription.
Appeals through their support form rarely succeed. The cap stays until you upgrade or migrate to a tool that doesn't gate session length.
GoDesk vs TeamViewer Free
The differences that matter when you're losing connections every five minutes.
| Feature | GoDesk Free | TeamViewer Free |
|---|---|---|
| Session length | Unlimited | 5 minutes (free) |
| Commercial-use detection | None | Aggressive heuristics |
| Free for personal + business | Yes, 30 devices | Personal only |
| End-to-end encryption | AES-256-GCM + X25519 | AES-256 |
| Open source | AGPL-3.0 | Proprietary |
| Self-hosted relay option | Yes | No |
| Cost (single user) | Free | $31/mo+ |
Why GoDesk has no 5-minute cap
No session timer
We meter on relay bandwidth and device count, not connection duration. A free user can hold a single session open for a full workday.
No commercial-use checks
Whether you're fixing your parents' laptop or running an IT consultancy, you use the same Free tier. We don't profile your IP, hours, or endpoint count.
Open source license
AGPL-3.0. The client is auditable, you can self-host the relay, and there's no vendor that can change the terms on you next quarter.
Common questions
Why does TeamViewer disconnect me after 5 minutes?
TeamViewer's heuristics flag your free account as commercial use, they look at how many endpoints you connect to, how often, and whether the IP ranges suggest a business. Once flagged, they impose a 5-minute session cap on the free tier and prompt you to buy a license. Appeals through their support form rarely resolve the flag.
Is the TeamViewer 5-minute limit a bug?
No. It's a deliberate enforcement of TeamViewer's free-for-personal-use license. The detection algorithm is intentionally aggressive, TeamViewer admits it as a way to push frequent users onto a paid plan ($31+/month).
What is 'commercial use detected' on TeamViewer?
It's the message TeamViewer shows when their algorithm decides you're using the free tier for business purposes. Even legitimate personal users hit it, IT helpers fixing family computers, freelancers connecting to a single client, or anyone with a static business IP address. The result is the same: 5-minute sessions, then a paywall.
Is GoDesk free for commercial use?
Yes. GoDesk's Free tier (30 devices, 5 GB/month relay) has no commercial-use detection, no session timeouts, and no licensing checks. The terms allow personal AND business use. Paid tiers (Lite, Pro, Team) exist for higher device counts or dedicated relay, not because the free tier is gated.
Does GoDesk have any session length limit?
No. A GoDesk session can stay open for hours or days. The only practical limits are the relay bandwidth quota (5 GB/month on Free, 50 GB on Lite, 250 GB on Pro) and your network reliability. Direct P2P connections (the default) don't count against the relay quota at all.
Stop watching the 5-minute clock
Download GoDesk, share your device ID, and stay connected. No account on the desktop, no commercial-use prompts, no session timeouts.
Read more: Best free TeamViewer alternative 2026