Adobe: Difference between revisions
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Moreover, all this information was transmitted completely unencrypted in plain text. This meant that even someone who was just on the same Starbucks WiFi would have been able track their reading activities in realtime, entirely undetected. | Moreover, all this information was transmitted completely unencrypted in plain text. This meant that even someone who was just on the same Starbucks WiFi would have been able track their reading activities in realtime, entirely undetected. | ||
=== Disrespect for user choices === | ===Disrespect for user choices=== | ||
Adobe is known for using a dark pattern where certain options are re-enabled during or after each update despite the user explicitly disabling them before. 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 is known for using a [[dark pattern]] where certain options are re-enabled during or after each update despite the user explicitly disabling them before. 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. | ||
Instances of this were the options to automatically install updates in the future in the Adobe Flash installer. The same dark pattern is currently used in the Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop app, 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. | Instances of this were the options to automatically install updates in the future in the Adobe Flash installer. The same dark pattern is currently used in the Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop app, 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 has for a period that spans multiple different centuries required the user to manually maximise 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 has for a period that spans multiple different centuries required the user to manually maximise 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. | ||
=== User information leaks and data breaches === | |||
In 2013, credit card information and personal data of 38 million customers was exposed in a data breach.<ref>https://medium.com/@maazptl240602/the-adobe-attack-of-2013-a-cautionary-tale-of-cybersecurity-failure-1ef4ec74eb64</ref> | |||
In 2019, Adobe left about 7.5 million Creative Cloud customer records in a database in gross negligence. The database was publicly accessible online and not even protected with a password.<ref>https://www.zdnet.com/article/adobe-left-7-5-million-creative-cloud-user-records-exposed-online/</ref> | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 21:09, 1 March 2025
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1982 |
| Type | Public |
| Industry | Software |
| Official website | https://adobe.com/ |
Adobe is a software company based in America, specializing in software for creative applications, such as video editing, photo manipulation, animation, or illustration.
Incidents
Transition to subscription based software
Adobe initially distributed their software with perpetual licenses, where the user would only pay once for the right to own and use a copy of an application (or, through Adobe's Creative Suite, a collection of applications). In 2011, Adobe introduced Creative Cloud, a service that gave users access to all of Adobe's current software for a monthly fee; Creative Cloud eventually superseded Creative Suite and all of Adobe's perpetual licenses, and as of today, the only way to access up-to-date Adobe software officially is through Creative Cloud.
Alleged use of user data for AI training
User documents forced into the cloud with no opt-out
Some of Adobe's iPad applications, including but not limited to digital painting app Adobe Fresco and document scanning app Adobe Scan, require an account and do not offer any option to opt out of syncing all documents created in these apps with Adobe's cloud servers. There is no end-to-end encryption, i.e. Adobe has full access to all these files. Disabling internet access makes it possible to work offline, but any files created in these apps then immediately sync to the cloud in the background as soon as the device is connected to a network again.
Spying on users' eBook reading activities
In 2014, it was revealed that the popular Adobe Editions eBook reading app reported extensive information about users' reading habits back to Adobe. This included several unique identifiers, which books were added to the app, when which one was opened for how long, percentage read, and page navigation information.[1]
Moreover, all this information was transmitted completely unencrypted in plain text. This meant that even someone who was just on the same Starbucks WiFi would have been able track their reading activities in realtime, entirely undetected.
Disrespect for user choices
Adobe is known for using a dark pattern where certain options are re-enabled during or after each update despite the user explicitly disabling them before. 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.
Instances of this were the options to automatically install updates in the future in the Adobe Flash installer. The same dark pattern is currently used in the Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop app, 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 has for a period that spans multiple different centuries required the user to manually maximise 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.
User information leaks and data breaches
In 2013, credit card information and personal data of 38 million customers was exposed in a data breach.[2]
In 2019, Adobe left about 7.5 million Creative Cloud customer records in a database in gross negligence. The database was publicly accessible online and not even protected with a password.[3]
References
- Wikipedia contributors (2025-02-03). "Adobe Inc". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
- Rossmann, Louis (2024-06-07). "Adobe roofies all of their customers". YouTube. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
- ↑ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/10/adobes-e-book-reader-sends-your-reading-logs-back-to-adobe-in-plain-text/
- ↑ https://medium.com/@maazptl240602/the-adobe-attack-of-2013-a-cautionary-tale-of-cybersecurity-failure-1ef4ec74eb64
- ↑ https://www.zdnet.com/article/adobe-left-7-5-million-creative-cloud-user-records-exposed-online/