Users are Infuriated by Adobe’s New Terms for Photoshop and Illustrator

Adobe’s recent changes to its terms of use have ignited a firestorm of controversy on social media, with creatives expressing outrage over the tech giant’s new policies. The updated terms now allow Adobe to access user content automatically and manually, using techniques such as machine learning, raising concerns about privacy and ownership of creative work.

One creative concept artist, Sam Santala, took to social media to call out Adobe for its new terms, questioning whether he could use Photoshop without granting the company full access to his creations, including those protected by non-disclosure agreements. Santala’s post quickly gained traction, garnering over 71,000 likes and reaching more than 9.5 million people.

Santala’s concerns were echoed by others in the creative community, including toy designers and movie directors, who voiced their opposition to Adobe’s updated terms. Some even called for a boycott of Adobe products, citing concerns about trust and security.

In response to the backlash, Scott Belsky, Adobe’s chief product officer for Adobe Creative Cloud, reassured users that Adobe does not train any AI models on customer content and maintains tight security measures around access to user data. However, the damage may already be done, as the controversy has shed light on the potential risks of using Adobe products for creatives who rely on confidentiality and privacy in their work.

With an estimated 33 million subscribers to Adobe Creative Cloud, the backlash against the company’s new terms of use highlights the growing importance of data privacy and ownership rights in the digital age.