Adobe faces backlash over new Photoshop TOS granting unlimited access to user projects

Adobe's recently discovered update to Adobe Photoshop Terms of Service (TOS) has sparked significant concern among professionals on social media, since it has been revealed that the new TOS mandates that users grant Adobe unlimited access to their active projects for "content moderation" and other purposes. This includes projects under NDA, spanning unannounced games, movies, and other media.

Adobe's access encompasses both automated and manual methods of content analysis. The company may employ machine learning to scrutinize user creations, leading to suspicions that Adobe aims to train its AI models with user-generated content. This aligns with Adobe's increasing focus on generative AI, highlighted by initiatives like Adobe Firefly.

It's worth noting that it seems the updated TOS primarily impacts projects stored in the cloud, leaving locally saved projects unaffected. Despite considerable backlash, Adobe has not commented on or revised the TOS since the changes were made in February 2024. Speculation suggests Adobe might be adopting a wait-and-see approach to the public outcry.

Our take: If you're looking for a perhaps less invasive alternative to Photoshop, you can always turn to the excellent Affinity Photo or the open-source GIMP, as well as hundreds of other alternatives that we have listed here.