Adobe: Difference between revisions

In 2013, Adobe 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 |archive-url=https://archive.ph/cxcNR |archive-date=16 Jun 2013 |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 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/0LcBS |archive-date=16 Jun 2013 |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=https://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/05/06/Adobe-kills-perpetual-licenses-as-creative-suite-moves-to-creative-cloud-cc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622072403/https://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>  

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/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/0ZT6H |archive-date=5 Jan 2026 |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/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/mTNlg |archive-date=5 Jan 2026 |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/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/SumKq |archive-date=5 Jan 2026 |access-date=2025-09-30 |website=InDesign Skills}}</ref>

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 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/rH59d |archive-date=2026-01-23 |website=Reuters}}</ref> This incident resulted in a $1,000,000 settlement and a commitment to implementing 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 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/nSVpL |archive-date=5 Jan 2026 |website=mass.gov}}</ref> In 2019, researchers discovered that Adobe's Elasticsearch database was insecure, potentially exposing the information of approximately 7.5 million users. <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 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/UfO7n |archive-date=12 Apr 2020}}</ref> Breaches impacting U.S. federal agencies and Adobe Commerce/Magento 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 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/8g4C3 |archive-date=15 Jan 2024 |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 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/vj2if |archive-date=5 Jan 2026 |website=sansec.io}}</ref>

===Transition to subscription-based software===

{{Hatnote|Read More: [[Adobe Lightroom]], [[Adobe Subscriptions]], [[Adobe CS Activation]] and  

[[Adobe sued by FTC over hidden fees in subscription plans]]

}}

Adobe initially distributed its software with perpetual licenses, allowing its 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 with access to individual applications 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 2025, the only means to access up-to-date versions of many Adobe applications legally 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 various subscription options, including monthly plans (with monthly or annual billing) or prepaid yearly 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 additional extras such as 100 GB of cloud storage, is priced at $69.99 per month or $779.88 per year prepaid.  

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 will incur a fee of $174.98. Prepaid annual plans do not offer refunds or cancellation options after the 14-day period.

===Alleged use of user data for AI training===

{{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.

 

===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<ref>{{Cite web |author=PaulaArtist2 |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 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/WreAh |archive-date=5 Jan 2026 |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 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/cO5G1 |archive-date=5 Jan 2026 |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.

 

 

 

===Tracking users' eBook reading activities===

All of this information was transmitted completely unencrypted in plain text. This meant that someone else using the same public Wi-Fi as another user would have been able to 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 |archive-url=https://archive.ph/gwRVe |archive-date=28 Nov 2024 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[ArsTechnica]]}}</ref>

===User information leaks and data breaches===

In 2013, credit card information and personal data of 38 million users were exposed in a data breach.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Patel |first=Maaz |date=26 Mar 2023 |title=The Adobe Attack of 2013: A Cautionary Tale of Cybersecurity Failure |url=https://medium.com/@maazptl240602/the-adobe-attack-of-2013-a-cautionary-tale-of-cybersecurity-failure-1ef4ec74eb64 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/xqXwd |archive-date=11 Jun 2024 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Medium]]}}</ref>

 

In 2019, Adobe left approximately 7.5 million Creative Cloud customer records publicly accessible online due to gross negligence. The database was not 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 |archive-url=https://archive.ph/KDsVc |archive-date=5 Jan 2026 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[ZDNet]}}</ref>

 

Adobe and Pantone change colors in users' existing files in Photoshop and Illustrator to black unless they pay an additional $15/month. <ref>{{Cite web |title=You now have to pay to use Pantone colors in Adobe products |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/1/23434305/adobe-pantone-subscription-announcement-photoshop-illustrator |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/uoPg0 |archive-date=1 Nov 2022 |website=The Verge}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Adobe Just Held a Bunch of Colors Hostage |url=https://www.wired.com/story/adobe-pantone-color-subscription-fee/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/mh7w6 |archive-date=10 Nov 2022 |website=Wired}}</ref>

 

On February 2, 2026, Adobe announced to users via e-mail that Adobe Animate, formerly the Adobe Flash Professional series of apps, was announced to be discontinued starting March 1, 2026. The full text of the e-mail reads as follows: <blockquote>We’re contacting you to let you know that Adobe will be discontinuing Adobe Animate on March 1, 2026. As an existing Animate user, you may continue to use Animate, but please note that technical support will no longer be available after March 1, 2027.

Please note that access to your Animate files and project data will end on March 1, 2027. To ensure a smooth transition, we encourage you to export your Animate FLA and XFL files to other formats such as SWF, SVG, and MP4 files before this date.

Customers with a Creative Cloud Pro plan can use other apps to replace some Animate functionality, including Adobe Express Premium for quick creation of animated videos and graphics and Adobe After Effects for more complex keyframe animation using the Puppet tool. All Creative Cloud members can also use free animation presets in Adobe Express to animate text, images, and design elements.

For more information about the discontinuation of Adobe Animate, review this Adobe Help Center article. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Adobe Support.

We thank you for being an Animate user and a valued Creative Cloud member,

The Creative Cloud Team</blockquote>The e-mail contained a link to a now-deleted help article, stating that the reason for this was their belief that "as technologies evolve, new platforms and paradigms emerge that better serve the needs of the users." New customers would no longer be able to download Animate after March 1, 2026, and existing customers would have until March 1, 2027 to download the software that they had paid for. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-02-02 |title=Animate End of Life FAQs |url=https://helpx.adobe.com/animate/kb/end-of-life.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260203121443/https://helpx.adobe.com/animate/kb/end-of-life.html |archive-date=2026-02-02 |access-date=2026-02-04 |website=Adobe Help Center}}</ref> This means that users who purchased licenses to use Adobe Animate had the ability to download that software taken from them despite paying for a license to do so. However, after backlash from artists using the software, Adobe backtracked and stated that Animate would be in "maintenance mode", claiming that they will provide security fixes for the software but no new features. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-02-03 |title=Adobe Animate maintenance mode FAQs |url=https://helpx.adobe.com/animate/kb/maintenance-mode.html |url-status=live |access-date=2026-02-04 |website=Adobe Help Center |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260205042636/https://helpx.adobe.com/animate/kb/maintenance-mode.html |archive-date=5 Feb 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Felecia |date=2026-02-03 |title=Adobe will discontinue its Animate software after 25 years |url=https://www.technobezz.com/news/adobe-will-discontinue-its-animate-software-after-25-years-2026-02-03-zg2t |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.is/pOiuR |archive-date=2026-02-04 |access-date=2026-02-03 |website=technobezz}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Preran |date=2026-02-03 |title=Update on the status of Adobe Animate |url=https://community.adobe.com/announcements-539/update-on-the-status-of-adobe-animate-1548459 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.is/HQgK0 |archive-date=2026-02-04 |access-date=2026-02-03 |website=Adobe Community}}</ref>

Adobe's previous line of creative software has been joined into a broader ecosystem called the ''Adobe Creative Cloud.'' The Creative Cloud includes updated versions of the previously purchasable software:

Included with the Creative Cloud, depending on plan options, Adobe also offers cloud-based storage, typefaces, stock photos, and other stock files.