Canva Affinity Studio adds arbitration clause: Difference between revisions
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reworded introductory paragraph, added more references to it, made mention to the more official name of the software, linked to its Wikipedia page, and related misc |
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[[Canva]], the | About a year after [[Canva]] acquired Serif, and along with it, the Affinity range of graphic editing applications, it removed the ability for users to purchase older versions of the Affinity software,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thacker |first=Tim |date=2025-10-12 |title=Why has Serif stopped selling its Affinity software? |url=https://www.cgchannel.com/2025/10/why-has-serif-stopped-selling-its-affinity-software/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260111021039/https://www.cgchannel.com/2025/10/why-has-serif-stopped-selling-its-affinity-software/ |archive-date=11 Jan 2026|access-date=2025-11-02 |website=cgchannel}}</ref> and released new a piece of software to replace them called "[[wikipedia:Affinity (software)|Affinity]]" (referred to in this article as "Affinity Studio").<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ferguson |first=Abby |title=Affinity is now one app that’s "completely free, forever"… mostly | url=https://www.dpreview.com/news/5229499714/affinity-is-now-one-app-that-s-completely-free-forever-mostly |website=Dpreview |date=30 Oct 2025 |access-date=2026-07-04 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260429180949/https://www.dpreview.com/news/5229499714/affinity-is-now-one-app-that-s-completely-free-forever-mostly |archive-date=29 Apr 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hewson |first=Ash |title=Introducing the all-new Affinity: Professional design, now free for everyone |url=https://www.canva.com/newsroom/news/all-new-affinity/ |website=Canva |date=2025-10-30 |access-date=2026-07-04 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260704093151/https://www.canva.com/newsroom/news/all-new-affinity/ |archive-date=2026-07-04}}</ref> This new software, requires users to create or sign into a Canva account, in order to gain access to the software (see [[Forced account]]).<ref name="affinity-sw-product-page">{{Cite web |title=Get Affinity |url=https://www.affinity.studio/get-affinity |website=Canva |url-status=live |access-date=2026-07-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260705002748/https://www.affinity.studio/get-affinity |archive-date=2026-07-05}}</ref> Because of this Canva account requirement, the user must also agree to an arbitration clause,<ref name="canva-tos">{{Cite web |date=30 Oct 2025 |title=Terms of Use |url=https://www.canva.com/policies/terms-of-use/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260222212658/https://www.canva.com/policies/terms-of-use/ |archive-date=22 Feb 2026 |access-date=2025-11-02 |website=Canva}}</ref> among other agreements, in order to gain access to the software. These stipulations were not present in the previously available Serif offering of Affinity branded software: Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, and Affinity Publisher.{{cite}} | ||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
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The new Affinity Studio application is available free of charge to download, however there are concerns about privacy. | The new Affinity Studio application is available free of charge to download, however there are concerns about privacy. | ||
*First, users of Affinity Studio are required to sign into Canva's website to download the new Affinity Studio application,<ref | *First, users of Affinity Studio are required to sign into Canva's website to download the new Affinity Studio application,<ref name="affinity-sw-product-page" /> linking it to either a Google, Facebook, or email account.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Affinity by Canva |url=https://www.canva.com/product-suite-integration/authn/affinity?redirect_uri=https://www.affinity.studio%2Fen%2Fdownload&source=download_login_redirect&locale=en |website=Canva |url-status=live |access-date=2025-07-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260705012505/https://www.canva.com/product-suite-integration/authn/affinity?redirect_uri=https://www.affinity.studio%2Fen%2Fdownload&source=download_login_redirect&locale=en |archive-date=2026-07-05}}</ref> Users must agree to both Canva's Terms of Use and the Affinity Additional Terms; the dialog also prompts users to read the Canva Privacy Policy. By default, user data, (activity, content and media uploads) is being collected in order to train their algorithms, models and AI products and services. Users are able to opt out of these conditions. The ''Affinity Terms'' page also includes the following passage: <blockquote>If your Agreement allows multiple Users within your team to access the Affinity Software, then: […] Canva or its authorized agent will be entitled to enter onto your premises with reasonable notice to audit your use of the Affinity Software. This provision will survive termination of this License.<ref name="affinity-terms">{{Cite web |date=2025-10-30 |title=Affinity Terms |url=https://www.canva.com/policies/affinity-additional-terms/ |access-date=2025-11-03 |website=Canva |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260131204952/https://www.canva.com/policies/affinity-additional-terms/ |archive-date=31 Jan 2026}}</ref></blockquote> | ||
*Second, while most of the main features previously included in Serif's application appear to be present, features already available through Canva have been added to the Studio app, and these Canva AI-powered features require a subscription to use them.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Colbow |first=Brad |date=2025-10-30 |title=This? This was the Big Affinity and Canva Announcement? |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZzh3zVX-Zk |access-date=2025-11-02 |website=YouTube / Brad Colbow |url-status=live |archive-url=https://preservetube.com/watch?v=BZzh3zVX-Zk |archive-date=16 Feb 2026}}</ref> This also includes features that rely on local (offline) machine learning models and incur no server processing costs, such as the "Create Depth Map" command, as well as the "Select Subject" command, which was previously available as part of the base toolset and is now only available via a subscription. | *Second, while most of the main features previously included in Serif's application appear to be present, features already available through Canva have been added to the Studio app, and these Canva AI-powered features require a subscription to use them.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Colbow |first=Brad |date=2025-10-30 |title=This? This was the Big Affinity and Canva Announcement? |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZzh3zVX-Zk |access-date=2025-11-02 |website=YouTube / Brad Colbow |url-status=live |archive-url=https://preservetube.com/watch?v=BZzh3zVX-Zk |archive-date=16 Feb 2026}}</ref> This also includes features that rely on local (offline) machine learning models and incur no server processing costs, such as the "Create Depth Map" command, as well as the "Select Subject" command, which was previously available as part of the base toolset and is now only available via a subscription. | ||
*It's not clear what the future holds in regards to the Affinity Studio software, and whether existing features may get moved behind a paywall among other concerns.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Blake |first=Alex |date=2025-10-31 |title=Affinity says its new Adobe-rivaling creative app is ‘free forever’ – here’s how that really works |url=https://www.techradar.com/computing/affinity-says-its-new-adobe-rivaling-creative-app-is-free-forever-heres-how-that-really-works |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251103054755/https://www.techradar.com/computing/affinity-says-its-new-adobe-rivaling-creative-app-is-free-forever-heres-how-that-really-works |archive-date=2025-11-03 |access-date=2025-11-02 |website=techradar}}</ref> | *It's not clear what the future holds in regards to the Affinity Studio software, and whether existing features may get moved behind a paywall among other concerns.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Blake |first=Alex |date=2025-10-31 |title=Affinity says its new Adobe-rivaling creative app is ‘free forever’ – here’s how that really works |url=https://www.techradar.com/computing/affinity-says-its-new-adobe-rivaling-creative-app-is-free-forever-heres-how-that-really-works |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251103054755/https://www.techradar.com/computing/affinity-says-its-new-adobe-rivaling-creative-app-is-free-forever-heres-how-that-really-works |archive-date=2025-11-03 |access-date=2025-11-02 |website=techradar}}</ref> | ||