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{{InfoboxCompany
{{Incomplete|Issue 1=Many claims made without proper citations.}}{{ToneWarning}}{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Adobe
| Name = Adobe
| Type = Public
| Type = Public
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}}
}}


[[wikipedia:Adobe_Inc.|'''Adobe''']] is a software company based in San Jose, California, specializing in software for creative uses such as photo and video editing, animation, and illustration.  
[[wikipedia:Adobe_Inc.|'''Adobe''']] is a software company based in San Jose, California that specializes in creative software such as photo editing, video editing, animation, illustration, web development, and more. Founded in 1982, the company developed the Portable Document Format (PDF) in 1992, as well as a full suite of creative software. Widespread adoption of their products by novices, industry professionals, and nation-states has enabled Adobe to carve out a significant market share in the creative software industry. In FY24, Adobe's Digital Media Segment reported $15.86 billion in revenue to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). <ref>[https://www.adobe.com/cc-shared/assets/investor-relations/pdfs/adbe-2024-annual-report.pdf ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934] </ref> 


==Consumer impact summary==
==Consumer impact summary==
Adobe has switched from a perpetual license model to a subscription model (Creative Cloud).


Adobe has also been accused of using user information to train artificial intelligence; mandatory cloud syncing in applications such as Adobe Fresco and Adobe Scan, without a choice to opt out and without end-to-end encryption; monitoring the reading behavior of users within eBooks; and employing [[Dark pattern|dark patterns]] to re-enable, when an application is updated, features which a user has disabled.
===Lack of ownership===
Adobe has switched from a perpetual license model to a subscription model (Creative Cloud).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Cunningham |first=Andrew |date=2013-05-06 |title=Adobe’s Creative Suite is dead, long live the Creative Cloud |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/05/adobes-creative-suite-is-dead-long-live-the-creative-cloud/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-09-30 |website=Ars Technica}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Campbell-Dollaghan |first=Kelsey |date=2013-05-06 |title=Say Goodbye to Creative Suite: Adobe CS Is Now Creative Cloud |url=https://gizmodo.com/say-goodbye-to-creative-suite-adobe-rebrands-cs-as-cre-493155052 |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2013-05-06 |title=Adobe heralds subscription-only future for Photoshop and Creative Suite |url=http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/05/06/Adobe-kills-perpetual-licenses-as-creative-suite-moves-to-creative-cloud-cc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622072403/http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/05/06/Adobe-kills-perpetual-licenses-as-creative-suite-moves-to-creative-cloud-cc |archive-date=2013-06-22 |access-date=2025-09-30 |website=Digital Photography Review}}</ref>


Besides that, Adobe has undergone multiple data breaches which have exposed millions of users' personal and payment information.
===Proprietary file formats===
Works created in Adobe software come in Adobe-exclusive file formats such as .psd for Photoshop<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Colin |date= |title=Most commonly used file types in Photoshop |url=https://photoshopcafe.com/commonly-used-file-types-photoshop/ |access-date=2025-09-30 |website=Photoshop CAFE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Brendan |date=2023-10-12 |title=File Formats In Photoshop Explained (Complete List) |url=https://www.bwillcreative.com/file-formats-in-photoshop-explained/ |access-date=2025-09-30 |website=Brendan Williams Creative}}</ref> and .indd for InDesign.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Which File Format?: A Guide to INDD, IDML, INX and Everything In-Between |url=https://indesignskills.com/tutorials/open-indesign-files-in-earlier-versions/ |access-date=2025-09-30 |website=InDesign Skills}}</ref>
 
===Data breaches===
In 2013, Adobe disclosed a data breach affecting approximately 3 million customers. This number was later revised to approximately 38 million. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Finkle |first=Jim |date=29 Oct 2013 |title=Adobe data breach more extensive than previously disclosed |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/technology/adobe-data-breach-more-extensive-than-previously-disclosed-idUSBRE99S1DJ |website=reuters.com/}}</ref> This incident resulted in a $1,000,000 settlement and a promise of new security policies. <ref>{{Cite web |date=15 Nov 2016 |title=Adobe to Pay $1 Million, Update Security Policies to Resolve Multistate Investigation Into Data Breach |url=https://www.mass.gov/news/adobe-to-pay-1-million-update-security-policies-to-resolve-multistate-investigation-into-data-breach |website=mass.gov}}</ref> In 2019, researchers discovered that Adobe's Elasticsearch database was insecure, which may have exposed approximately 7.5 million users' information. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Khandelwal |first=Swati |date=26 Oct 2019 |title=Unsecured Adobe Server Exposes Data for 7.5 Million Creative Cloud Users |url=https://thehackernews.com/2019/10/adobe-database-leaked.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com}}</ref> Breaches impacting U.S. federal agencies and Adobe Commerce/Magneto stores also occurred in 2023 and 2024, respectively. <ref>{{Cite web |date=5 Dec 2023 |title=Threat Actors Exploit Adobe ColdFusion CVE-2023-26360 for Initial Access to Government Servers |url=https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa23-339a |website=cisa.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sansec Forensics Team |date=1 Oct 2024 |title=Thousands of Adobe Commerce stores hacked in competing CosmicSting campaigns |url=https://sansec.io/research/cosmicsting-fallout |website=sansec.io}}</ref>


==Incidents==
==Incidents==


===Transition to subscription based software===
===Transition to subscription-based software===
{{Hatnote|Read More: [[Adobe Lightroom: Perpetual to Subscription Transition]], [[Adobe Subscription]], [[Adobe CS Activation]] and  
{{Hatnote|Read More: [[Adobe Lightroom]], [[Adobe Subscriptions]], [[Adobe CS Activation]] and  
[[Adobe Sued by FTC Over Hidden Fees in Subscription Plans]]
[[Adobe sued by FTC over hidden fees in subscription plans]]
}}
}}


Adobe initially distributed their software with perpetual licenses, where the user would pay only once for the ownership and access to a copy of an application (or, through Adobe's Creative Suite, a collection of applications). In 2011, Adobe introduced Creative Cloud, a service which allowed users to access an individual application or multiple applications for a monthly or yearly fee. In 2013, Adobe announced it would discontinue Creative Suite.  
Adobe initially distributed their software with perpetual licenses, allowing their users to make a one-time payment to own and access a specific application or, through Adobe's Creative Suite, a collection of applications. In 2011, Adobe introduced Creative Cloud, a subscription service that provides users access to an individual application or multiple applications for a monthly or yearly fee. In 2013, Adobe discontinued Creative Suite.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />


As of today, the only way to legally access up-to-date versions of many of Adobe’s applications is through Creative Cloud. Moreover, many of the activation servers for perpetual licenses of prior versions of these applications have been shut down, meaning that even with a legitimate copy of the software and a serial number, the software cannot be activated.  
As of 2025, the only means to legally access up-to-date versions of many Adobe applications is through Creative Cloud. Additionally, the activation servers for perpetual licenses of previous versions of these applications have been shut down, which prevents consumers from activating the software using a legitimate copy and a serial number.  


Creative Cloud offers monthly (with options to be billed either monthly or annually) or prepaid annual plans, as well as plans for individual applications and bundles containing multiple applications. These subscriptions can cost, for many of the individual applications, $22.99/month or $263.88 prepaid annually, and for Creative Cloud Pro (which includes 22 applications and some additional extras including 100gb of cloud storage), $69.99/month or $779.88 prepaid annually.  
Creative Cloud offers various subscription options, including monthly plans (with monthly or annual billing) or prepaid annual plans. There are also plans for individual applications and bundles containing multiple applications. Prices of individual applications range from $22.99 per month or $263.88 prepaid annually. The Creative Cloud Pro subscription, which includes 22 applications and some additional extras including 100gb of cloud storage, is priced at $69.99 per month or $779.88 prepaid annually.  


For annually billed monthly subscriptions, there is also a cancellation fee after 14 days which charges the user 50% of the remaining balance of the contract (e.g., if the user cancels within the 7th month of an annually billed monthly subscription, the user will still have to pay 50% of the fee for the remaining 5 months, which, in the case of a $69.99 plan, for instance, would cost the user $174.98).  As for prepaid annual plans, they offer no refund or cancelation whatsoever after 14 days.
Plans billed annually but paid monthly have a cancellation fee 14 days after purchase. This fee is set at 50% of the remaining contract balance. For example, if the user cancels the plan in the seventh month of an annual plan that costs $69.99 per month, they would incur a fee of $174.98. Prepaid annual plans do not offer refunds or cancellation options after 14 days.


===Alleged use of user data for AI training===
===Alleged use of user data for AI training===
{{Hatnote|Read more: [[Adobe's AI policy]] and [[Adobe Firefly]]}}
{{main|Adobe's AI policy}}
Adobe has been accused of using user information for the purpose of training artificial intelligence. In 2024, Adobe updated its Terms of Service, granting itself a "non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license" to users' content. This grants Adobe permission to reproduce, distribute, create derivative works from, publicly display, publicly perform, and sublicense their users' content. This change raises concerns over conflicts with existing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and intellectual property rights. Users were required to accept the new Terms of Service to access their previously stored content.
 
Adobe has stated that they do not use user content to train generative AI, but they may use it for improving their machine learning systems, with an opt-out available. However, no opt-out option was presented during acceptance of the Terms of Service. <!-- Needs References. -V -->


===User documents forced into the cloud with no opt-out===
===User documents forced into the cloud with no opt-out===
Some of Adobe's iPad applications, including, but not limited to, the digital painting application Adobe Fresco and the document scanning application Adobe Scan, require an account to access and do not offer any option to opt out of syncing all documents created in these applications with Adobe's cloud servers. Similarly, the new non-Classic versions of Lightroom are fundamentally built around uploading all images to Adobe's cloud.
Some of Adobe's iPad applications, including, but not limited to, the digital painting application Adobe Fresco<ref>{{Cite web |last=PaulaArtist2 et al. |date=2021-12-13 |title=[How To] Save work locally / work offline |url=https://community.adobe.com/t5/fresco-discussions/how-to-save-work-locally-work-offline/m-p/12390252 |access-date=2025-09-22 |website=Adobe Community}}</ref> and the document scanning application Adobe Scan<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tagra |first=Ria |date=2021-06-14 |title=Does Adobe Scan offer a way to not utilize the Adobe Cloud |url=https://community.adobe.com/t5/adobe-scan-discussions/does-adobe-scan-offer-a-way-to-not-utilize-the-adobe-cloud/m-p/12104402 |access-date=2025-09-22 |website=Adobe Community}}</ref>, require an account to access and do not offer any option to opt out of syncing all documents created in these applications with Adobe's cloud servers. Similarly, the new non-Classic versions of Lightroom are fundamentally built around uploading all images to Adobe's cloud.


There is no end-to-end encryption, i.e., Adobe has full access to all of these files. Disabling internet access makes it possible to work offline, but any files created in the affected apps immediately sync to the cloud in the background as soon as the device is connected to a network again.
There is no end-to-end encryption, i.e., Adobe has full access to all of these files. Disabling internet access makes it possible to work offline, but any files created in the affected apps immediately sync to the cloud in the background as soon as the device is connected to a network again.
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===Spying on users' eBook reading activities===
===Spying on users' eBook reading activities===
In 2014, it was revealed that Adobe Digital Editions, Adobe’s e-book reading application, reported extensive information about users' reading habits back to Adobe. This included several unique identifiers; which e-books were added to the application; when which one was opened, and for how long; percentage read; and page navigation information.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gallagher |first=Sean |date=8 Oct 2014 |title=Adobe’s e-book reader sends your reading logs back to Adobe—in plain text |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/10/adobes-e-book-reader-sends-your-reading-logs-back-to-adobe-in-plain-text/ |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[ArsTechnica]]}}</ref>
In 2014, it was revealed that Adobe Digital Editions, Adobe’s e-book reading application, reported extensive information about users' reading habits back to Adobe. This included several unique identifiers; which e-books were added to the application; when which one was opened, and for how long; percentage read; and page navigation information.


Moreover, all of this information was transmitted completely unencrypted in plain text. This meant that even someone who was on the same public Wi-Fi would have been able track their reading activities in realtime, entirely undetected.
All of this information was transmitted completely unencrypted in plain text. This meant that even someone else who was on the same public Wi-Fi as another user would have been able track their reading activities in real time, entirely undetected.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gallagher |first=Sean |date=8 Oct 2014 |title=Adobe’s e-book reader sends your reading logs back to Adobe—in plain text |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/10/adobes-e-book-reader-sends-your-reading-logs-back-to-adobe-in-plain-text/ |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[ArsTechnica]]}}</ref>


===Disrespect for user choices===
===Disrespect for user choices===
Adobe uses a [[dark pattern]] where settings which a user has disabled are re-enabled during or after each update. The same choice is presented with the desired setting as a default many times in the hope that the user will either give up or accidentally forget to uncheck the option.
Adobe uses a [[dark pattern]] where settings which a user has disabled are re-enabled during or after each update. The same choice is presented with the desired setting as a default many times in the hope that the user will either give up or accidentally forget to uncheck the option.


For instance, this happed with the option to automatically install updates in the Adobe Flash installer. The same dark pattern is currently used in the Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop application, which presents the same option on each update and requires the user to disable it manually every single time if they do not wish to relinquish control to Adobe over when updates happen.
For instance, this happened with the option to automatically install updates in the Adobe Flash installer. The same dark pattern is currently used in the Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop application, which presents the same option on each update and requires the user to disable it manually every single time if they do not wish to relinquish control to Adobe over when updates happen.


Whether this is to be attributed to stupidity or malice is debatable, as for instance Adobe Lightroom Classic also has a habit of resetting the language to the system language after every update instead of what was manually chosen in preferences, and the Windows version of Adobe Illustrator had, for a very long time, required the user to manually maximize the application window and re-enable the document rulers after each startup until the issue was finally addressed when the application was moved to a different GUI framework.
Whether this is to be attributed to stupidity or malice is debatable, as for instance Adobe Lightroom Classic also has a habit of resetting the language to the system language after every update instead of what was manually chosen in preferences, and the Windows version of Adobe Illustrator had, for a very long time, required the user to manually maximize the application window and re-enable the document rulers after each startup until the issue was finally addressed when the application was moved to a different GUI framework.
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In 2019, Adobe left about 7.5 million Creative Cloud customer records in a database publicly accessible online in gross negligence. The database was not even protected with a password.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cimpanu |first=Catalin |date=26 Oct 2019 |title=Adobe left 7.5 million Creative Cloud user records exposed online |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/adobe-left-7-5-million-creative-cloud-user-records-exposed-online/ |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[ZDNet]}}</ref>
In 2019, Adobe left about 7.5 million Creative Cloud customer records in a database publicly accessible online in gross negligence. The database was not even protected with a password.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cimpanu |first=Catalin |date=26 Oct 2019 |title=Adobe left 7.5 million Creative Cloud user records exposed online |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/adobe-left-7-5-million-creative-cloud-user-records-exposed-online/ |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[ZDNet]}}</ref>


==Products<!-- Def wanna fill this in properly later -->==
==Products==
 
===Adobe Creative Cloud===
Adobe's previous line of creative software has been joined into a wider ecosystem called the ''Adobe Creative Cloud.'' The Creative Cloud includes updated versions of the previously purchasable software:
 
*Photoshop
*Lightroom
*InDesign
*After Effects
*Dreamweaver
*Illustrator
*XD
*and many more


*Creative Cloud (20xx):
Included with the Creative Cloud, depending on plan options, Adobe also offers cloud based storage, typefaces, and stock photos and other stock files.
*Photoshop (199x):
*[[Adobe Lightroom: Perpetual to Subscription Transition|Lightroom]] (200x):
*[[Adobe Digital Editions' ebook DRM|Digital Editions]] (20xx):


==References==
==References==
Retrieved from "https://consumerrights.wiki/w/Adobe"