Why I’ve had enough of Adobe

Adobe's latest controversy just adds to the pile of reasons they've been a frustrating company to work with for years.
Check out Louis Rossmann's video on the same changes:
• Adobe roofies all of t...

[@RyanGreen]

Hey everyone, obviously I haven’t been able to keep up with all the comments on this one haha. Just thought I should mention that Adobe have changed their ToS again, and seem to have improved some things. Particularly tightening up the limitations on what they can do with your content, rather than a broad license and then asking you just to trust them. So it’s improvement! Doesn’t address the other issues I raised, but we’ll see how the lawsuit goes lol

[@norwegiansmores811]

so here is a lesson you might want to learn. the option to have both a perpetual license that costs more or a subscription is the ideal option. however from watching companies like autodesk or autocad software specifically the world does not work this way. subscription model and pay once cannot and will not co-exist. its all or nothing. and my stance leans towards nothing when it comes to subscriptions and all when it comes to perpetual license.

[@heyaisdabomb]

The subscription model is never a model that is designed to provide the best experience for customers. It's always been a way to exract as much capital out of it's customers as possible. Take Microsoft 360. I used to be able to buy it for $99, but now, it's $9.99 per month. So in 10 months, you break even, and then, you just keep paying. You used to buy software for 3, 4, 5, or more years. So if you averaged it out, it would be $2 or $3 a month. But now, they have you. Subscriptions models in theory could be better, but I've yet to see anyone go to a subscription only model that's better than when their software was a one time fee.

[@tankfu1]

It's too late now. Continuing to do business with Adobe would be like staying with that girlfriend that cheated on you and swears she'll never do it again. Doesn't matter what she says or does, you won't be surprised the next time and you'll feel like an idiot.

[@TheRimBrakeGuy]

Screw them, greedy corporate fucks.

[@JessicaFEREM]

paying for a year of software and cancalling midway through, being forced to pay extra to cancel, and not letting you finish your paid time, all should be illegal. just let me cancel now and have it cancel at the end of the year. adobe should be sued into the ground for anti consumer practices

[@iansmithtravels]

Totally agree. It’s shocking that they are allowed to remove the products even though you’ve paid. Plenty of other companies allow you to cancel early and keep access until the end of the subscription period

[@eleghari]

Not just Adobe....the whole industry has been abusing their customers more and more...

[@kevin-parratt-artist]

I ditched Photoshop and went over to Gimp. Open source shareware is great. 👌

[@domehouse79]

Agreed

[@DigitalMoonlight]

It is illegal in most western jurisdictions, just most people are unaware of their consumer rights and don't contact their local consumer rights organizations. Australia in particular has extremely consumer friendly protections.

[@willi1978]

sounds like an abusive relationship

[@BoltRM]

Perfect analogy. Treating customers like the enemy.

[@zorglubmagnus455]

Sounds more like a scam and racketeering

[@ChrisKhaled83]

@@zorglubmagnus455 Its all of the above

[@perrypereyra6671]

no. sounds like blackmail r*pist

[@oreste6076]

but he is the Pimp of the Pimps

[@izzuddinmnasir4884]

Repeat after me: IF BUYING ISNT OWNING, THEN PIRACY ISNT STEALING 🎉🎉🎉

[@velvetbees]

That isn't true. It is stealing. But I understand the temptation. The product is ridiculously overpriced, and they should not be shocked people do it..

[@Thorned_Rose]

@@velvetbees It's not stealing though. "Stealing" requires something substantive to be removed from someone (or an entity like a company) where that person or entity no longer has that thing and the stealer now has that thing. It's a movement of something from one person or entity to another. Pirating on the other hand is not stealing because digital items are technically infinite in nature - they can be copied or replicated without limit so piracy cannot be stealing. It is copyright or IP infringement but it cannot be "stealing". For example, If I was to (hypothetically!) pirate Adobe Photoshop by downloading it illegally, I am not "stealing" from Adobe - Adobe still has full and complete ownership of Photoshop. I have not removed the ownership in any way shape or form. I have however infringed on their CopyRights by obtaining a copy illegally. I am getting a COPY of their software which I don't have a RIGHT to because I did not pay for it.

[@anony_meows]

@@Thorned_Rose i'm not supporting adobe here, but i like the semantics acrobat so this is just my attempt to pick your brain you getting a copy of their software without the right > the right is attained by the means of monetary exchange > technically you are stealing, but not their digital goods ;as you've said those copyright infringement; you are stealing their monetary gains as an effect of their IP getting licensed into usage right, which you blatantly disregard but yeah, fuck that. this anti consumer crap needs to stop

[@CarlWicker]

@@Thorned_Rose It is stealing the IP, however they've pushed us back underground.... I say pirate away to hearts content... it's all easily found.

[@navidds]

​​@@velvetbees not just overpriced but also inaccessible offline and even when you pay they've reduced the number of devices that can stay logged in to just 2. This has been causing havoc on location photoshoots for me. Where adobe randomly decides to logout and need online connection just to let me re-open the apps... my only options were switching to affinity/davinci for certain tasks (which I did) or using cracked software that gives a smoother adobe experience.

[@Schubeedoobee]

adobe needs to suffer a CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT for cancellation abuse and predatory subscription practices. there IS a case for this.

[@animatewithdermot]

100%, it's abuse of monopoly power. The FTC/Feds should be on them like stink on shit.

[@nittani.]

I want them to feel the financial burden that we feel and see when litterally 5% of all my income goes to adobe

[@gaatjenietaanprivacy5023]

I just saw a video that in the Netherlands they seem to spy on you via cookies and sell all information they can get about you, even before you have the chance to deny the cookies. That is not allowed by law, so they have been sued 5 months ago for that.

[@missjoli7821]

This comment aged so well!

[@dragick5646]

the government is coming for them

[@SniffyMage]

I canceled my plan and did not need to pay the exit fee. All you need to do is change plan to a lower plan and then you can cancel within 14 days and get a refund :)

[@xanderlurks]

This comment needs pinned!

[@JessicaFEREM]

the fact that you need to do this at all is fucked.

[@omnirhythm]

@@JessicaFEREM Yep. I got fucked out of a year's worth of subscription to Domestika for forgetting to delete my acc after the trial period. Many, if not all sub-based services seem to share the same modus operandi and it's so sleazy and underhanded.

[@0011110000111110]

Ridiculous that you'd need to do that, but good to know

[@vdochev]

I hope you wrote this to help people and not to defend adobe.

[@jd_flick]

imagine paying a monthly fee for adobe for video editing when davinci resolve is 300 dollars as a one time fee

[@rjfotovideo]

Also faster and is way better to use.

[@pyerack]

Also crashes way less often

[@humandroid53]

I just use iMovie. It's kind of awful but I make it work.

[@rcpainter3023]

Exactly!!! Stop paying a monthly service for SOFTWARE! It's a FINISHED product like Windows and Apple OS.

[@Owen-Innes]

Just switched over.. Still use After Effects and Cinema 4D

[@muhdiversity7409]

Autodesk is just the same. They think they invented an infinite money glitch by providing no value in 3DSMax and provide little to no value as the years go by. Like Adobe I said goodbye to Autodesk and never looked back.

[@mauriciolee7349]

Hi @muhdiversity7409, WHAT is the APP you replace Autodesk with? Thanks.

[@GraveUypo]

@@mauriciolee7349 probably blender. blender is better than 3dsmax and learning 3dsmax back in 2010 when i had the choice between the two is one of the big regrets of my life

[@DrakeDealer]

Just set sail in the seven seas, matey. They won’t know and can’t enforce anything.

[@Knowbody42]

What did you switch to?

[@ViralKiller]

Blender, houdini and cinema 4d are beautiful. For compositing nuke, kden

[@marcrjacobs]

Time to exit, Adobe is not that special

[@mtallan]

I don’t like the changes but I’m locked in for a variety of reasons.

[@marcrjacobs]

@@mtallan Too bad, I know a lot of professionals that are embedded in more than just Lightroom and Photoshop and, unfortunately, Adobe seems to have a monopoly on the sector. Sorry!

[@0011110000111110]

@@marcrjacobs Monopolies end when there is a good enough reason. Forcing all your customers to give you everything they make, and allow you to copy it and use it and make other stuff with it and share it with others when they feel like.. this is the kind of thing that ends monopolies.

[@marcrjacobs]

@@0011110000111110 There is no way to force a breakup of a monopoly like Adobe. Too many of their products have no equivalent substitute. But, they can be forced to change their Terms of Use by enough people leaving. They are publicly held company and will never be able to justify to stockholders why they lose a significant portion of their customer base. For pure photogs it's easy to leave Adobe.

[@WentylSk8]

Done. Photoshop/Illustrator to Affinity. Substance Painter to Marmoset Toolbag. Substace Designer to InstaMat. Bye, Adobe.

[@AshnSilvercorp]

Adobe: _Yea, we don't train AI on customer data. We train it on licensed materials._ Meanwhile, earlier in the new terms: *Adobe says your giving them a big fat license to your content to do prettymuch whatever they want.

[@saturnight.3026]

The companies like Adobe and Meta are just digging their own graves with all these underhanded tactics for the sake of one highly questionable tool. There's always going to be an alternative for anything, it's just a matter of convenience and a habit, and nowadays privacy concerns get massively more uncomfortable than having to learn something new from scratch.

[@RyanGreen]

Yeah honestly I have really interaction with any Meta products, but what you say sounds right haha

[@TrekCZ]

They are not digging any graves, this "issue" is just probably crafted by other companies trying to lure customers. Also, I checked at work and enterprise Adobe subscriptions do not have content analysis.

[@sem_skywalker]

@@TrekCZ Either you work for them or you are a noob.

[@ScottRae]

Only they're probably not. Looking at some of the photography forums (yeh, I still use those) there are a LOT of naive people who simply have no idea how the internet works, don't believe that Adobe or Big Tech would try to rip them off or be evil, don't understand how AI is trained or simply don't care! Bring on AI taking over their hobby or profession I guess! Adobe will take a hit from people who read their EULAs or have a vague interest and understanding of what's happening through it being handed to them on a plate. Hopefully that'll be enough for them to reconsider, but I doubt it somehow. Not like they're doing anything different to what Facebook, Google, Microsoft, etc have probably already done. For me - bye bye Adobe, as soon as I sort out alternatives.

[@TrekCZ]

​@@sem_skywalker I do not work for Adobe, but definitely would love to work for them, but they are not in my country. And I am noob. But I know that, so I will have some AI trainings/bootcamps this year to upskill and hopefully be promoted from noob to novice or advanced beginner at least.

[@hfranke07]

I left Adobe 5 years ago. Went to Affinity. Never looked back

[@fablewalls]

Only "cloud" on the horizon is the sale of Affinity to Canva who are interested in AI too.

[@bakeraus]

It really depends on how you work and who you work with. I can't do this because I work with all creatives who all use Adobe suite even down to Acrobat for comments on PDF for changes. The broader picture is when companies sell to larger companies and you have one player in the market with the majority stake and no one to challenge it. I would just turn off Ai in Adobe all together if I could because I don't use it and honestly don't need it atm.

[@randall.chamberlain]

As companies grow bigger, the bigger the revenue needs to be to satisfy investors, which inevitably ends up in companies resorting to these dark patterns to satiate the exponentially growing capital appetite. I think this is just unavoidable in most of our economic models.

[@RyanGreen]

Yeah that's quite possible. Adobe still seem to be trailblazers for this in the creative industries though lol

[@pyerack]

Which is scary because every major company that remains is now humongous and it's making them even more desperate to seek new ways to exploit us be it devouring the competition, awful policies or just using our data to make more profit. This is not a sustainable model, especially at the pace we're going. It's only been a few decades of these software and social media companies existing and they're already getting real malicious with their tactics.

[@wandervoltz]

Our obsession with growth will lead to the destruction of our earth if we don't course-correct....soon.

[@rabiatorthegreat6163]

See also Cory Doctorow's Enshittification lifecycle (paraphrasing from memory). Phase 1: Provide a good service, perhaps even for free, to build up a user base. Phase 2: Milk the users by increasing prices, selling their data and whatnot. Save as much on the expenses for providing the service, at the expense of quality. Phase 3: Rip off your investors too. Phase 4: Die Adobe appears to be at least in phase 2.

[@KuttyJoe]

@@rabiatorthegreat6163 It won't die until better competition comes along.

[@globalren]

This is why I like open source software.

[@titovalasques]

I would prefer open source, however (and unfortunately) they’re usually aren’t the most user friendly. Designed by programmers and without a clear concept has its drawbacks.

[@omnirhythm]

There's very, very few open source software out there in general that can hold its own against commercial software/closed source. Always lacking something, never quite there. Especially with work critical apps. However, with how many critical /bugs/ Adobe apps have been experiencing for a while now without being addressed, they're becoming critically fucked. The left mouse being 'stuck' in Photoshop is one such incredibly workflow breaking issue.

[@jc-aguilar]

If you want open source to get better, please support them. If you don’t have money, you can help with your time. Improving documentation, creating tutorials, providing useful feedback. Please remember that feedback is only useful when is precise and actionable. All those things are so needed in most open source projects. For example, if you are a designer you could provide mocks with clear explanations why your suggestions are going to help the project. In other words, be part of the community to make it better. I wish influencers would talk more about this. The problem is that a lot of people like to use open source but very few want to pay for it, with either money or time. Very few people sponsor the developers for their work but they do complain a lot about their UI, lack of features, etc.

[@StaceyAyodele]

FOSS RULES!

[@Being_Joe]

Whenever anyone says the GIMP is just as good I just turn the page.

[@studiophantomanimation]

I'm so pleased I dumped Adobe a few years back. They seem to get worse and worse.

[@Sywiar]

What do you use now??

[@studiophantomanimation]

@@Sywiar Davinci resolve, Gimp, Inkscape

[@Sywiar]

@@studiophantomanimation thanks!

[@MikeTisserand]

To get out of the plan free of charge: Go to cancel your subscription, they will ask if you would like to instead change to another plan. Pick another plan. Your old subscription will be cancelled, and the new subscription plan will begin that day. As with all new subscriptions you will get a 2 week grace period to cancel the plan and receive a refund. Immediately cancel the plan, money refunded, and no cancellation fees incurred.

[@MoD_Master_Of_Disaster_]

If only I read this 2hrs ago ;-(

[@JackieDElia]

I switched to Affinity years ago. But now I’m worried with the Canva purchase if I’m going to be going down the same road.

[@FilipOrekhov]

I'm in the same boat. Switched 3 years ago and now worried :/

[@JackieDElia]

@@FilipOrekhov I'm keeping a close eye on updates for Affinity on changes to policy, etc.

[@jernaugurgeh451]

The thing is, with Affinity you own the software you bought without a subscription, so even if they do go "evil" in the future, you still have the software you bought... at a very reasonable price :)

[@NoComGaming-uq1oq]

​@@jernaugurgeh451you still have to sign in before using it so they can just block the account.

[@JackieDElia]

@@jernaugurgeh451 So true and that is the reason I switched to them in the first place. This reminds me to keep a copy of version 2 as it is now somewhere for safe keeping.

[@YoutubeBorkedMyOldHandle_why]

A very balanced assessment. Thank you. Here's my take: Professionals often require niche products which are simply not widely available. So, companies produce these products for a limited market, at a higher cost, because the professional needs a solution and is willing to pay. These companies are not necessarily making a lot of money ... they just sell fewer expensive products to a more discriminating customer base. But adobe, from the getgo, has always wanted to play both sides of the same coin. They blast the airwaves with promos, infiltrate schools giving steep but limited discounts, they create the illusion in industry that there is no other choice, they get us all hooked, BUT ... then they demand 'professional' prices. There are better choices, but we've all been so blindsided by their propaganda that most people just assume they have to support the greediest company on the planet. I DO take issue with subscriptions, because they are a 'one price fits all' model, (meaning ... everyone pays FULL PRICE.) This may be fine if you 'live and breath' photo and video editing 24/7. If you do, they may even seem like a bargain. But what if someone needs access to quality software, but only uses it sparingly? The 'false' pricing assumption is that adobe products are pretty much the only software people use regularly. But I use dozens of sophisticated programs, most of which have nothing to do with graphics. These days I may go months without editing a single photo. It's a rip-off, like car insurance. If I drive, I have absolutely no choice, insurance is a legal requirement. But, what if I only drive 2000 km per year? Do I pay less? Not Fu$%ing likely ... I have to pay THROUGH THE NOSE the same as people who drive 250,000 km per year. Same with adobe. They charge the MAXIMUM they can bloody well get away with, because with subscriptions, they have ABSOLUTELY NO incentive not to. Neither do they have any incentive to improve their products, which is why they are so crappy. As compared with perpetual licensing, where I would only pay for an upgrade if there were substantial reasons to do so. In the meantime, I could still use the old software. Anyway, it's all mute. adobe screwed me something awful a few years ago, so I'll never use their software or pay another nickel to this horrid company as long as I live. I'm just warning others who may not understand yet.

[@humandroid53]

Good point about car insurance. There should be a mileage factor.

[@kaiateya]

@@humandroid53 For my car insurance, there's a mileage _minimum_ ... lol. If you use less than N km per year (and I definitely do) then you still have to pay the 8000km or whatever rate. I'm with @KZbinBorkedMyOldHandle_why on the rest. I have a bunch of hobbies and I like to kind of hop around to them as I get tired of another for a while. One of those is music making, and they have a super serious problem with this over there, too. Everyone is pushing super hard to get everyone on subscription plans, but it would be a waste of money for me, and it would add another stress to my life (I'm paying for this, I ought to be using it). Yuck, no thanks. ('course, aside, Waves learned the hard way that dropping perpetual licences entirely and jumping to subs only upsets people for some reason :D)

[@Dave102693]

@@humandroid53ikr?

[@E33Tpro]

I stopped using Adobe products when they went subscription only, and the possibility for this kinda crap happening in the future was the reason why I did and why I dislike subscriptions so much.

[@hibhaven]

So what do you use as alternatives for Adobe tools? I am a heavy user of LR, PS and AI, is it possible to migrate their data/ files to other tools?

[@E33Tpro]

@@hibhaven Unfortunately I can't really give you a good answer on that, I'm a hobbyist so I've never been heavily invested like that, also, I don't use AI. I assume photography is what you do based on the software you mention which is what I did as well, I started using acdsee and gimp myself but don't know if that would work for you, however I see a lot of pro's talking about Affinity as a good replacement for PS, LR might be trickier to find a good replacement for though. Sorry I can't be of more help but I'm sure you'll find good tools if you keep looking into it.

[@MatejKovacicIllustrator]

@@hibhavenTry Affinity Photo, Design, Publish, Capture One Pro, Davinci Resolve…

[@user-qm5xg4hh8s]

Affinity, for more specific use cases there are tons of capable programs nowadays :)

[@robs3557]

Would love to see Black Magic write a Lightroom and photoshop program. The overwhelming majority would dump Adobe in a minute.

[@Dave102693]

And an illustrator alternative

[@KuttyJoe]

Yeah, if something was as good as Adobe, I would drop Adobe even if it were just a dollar cheaper than Adobe.

[@scannorse]

@@Dave102693affinity have it

[@scannorse]

No, we just want apple to reinstate Aperture, and update for for Apple Silicon

[@jamesheartney9546]

So glad I dropped Adobe last year. I got the whole Affinity suite for the equivalent of a few months Adobe subscription, except that I own it outright. They've also been pretty active at pushing out updates. And they seem better at supporting people who don't update to the latest OSX system. Now, I will say Affinity has a different enough interface that you can't just jump in and use it; you'll need to spend some time getting up to speed. Further, I can tell that Affinity is not quite as polished as the equivalent Adobe apps. For example, when you do a "Save as..." from Affinity Photo, you may have to manually set settings that Adobe would have done automatically for you. You also won't have as many options for some kinds of output as Adobe (like PDFs). That said, I've never had anything where I couldn't generate the files I needed from Affinity. Affinity does have a really nice command that I use a lot that Adobe didn't have last time I had it: "New from Clipboard". It creates a new file from the contents of the clipboard, sized correctly with no further input. Love that one. For graphics users, there was something scummy that Adobe did which I hated: they stopped supporting Type 1 fonts. AFAICT this has nothing to do with technical requirements. It was just a way to make people buy more fonts if what they had were old Type 1 fonts. What a**holes. Between that and not needing most of their subscriptions, I decided to drop Adobe when I learned about Affinity. Have a look at Affinity, it may serve your needs.

[@hibhaven]

Is it possible to migrate LR, PS and AI files to Affinity products?

[@deuswulf6193]

Software as a service rather than as product is generally bad for consumers. The only place for it is with studios, which is really who it is designed for. It's easier for them to add or remove seats depending on the project, get updates and support, and generally budget around a sub. It is not good for individuals or small teams. It also does not incentivize Adobe to "earn" your upgrades, which means they have to work harder for your money. With subs, they can work less, and get paid regardless.

[@elpretender1357]

At this point subscriptions have become a "pay forever" business tactic. You guys remember the days where you could go to a computer store, buy a program, plop a CD into your computer to install it and the program is all yours?

[@fanjan7527]

The Adobe subscription tactics have become quite ransomware like.

[@test-rj2vl]

What if your work is confidential and contract between you and customer does not allow those files to go Adobe?

[@Chu_the_Master]

That could involve MILLIONS of customers in the entire world

[@craigbarnett5992]

I see no evidence whatsoever that Adobe has the slightest intention of treating their customers like human beings.

[@test-rj2vl]

@@Chu_the_Master Exactly. So technically if privacy is breached then customer could still sue the graphic designer or photographer. And small one man companies can't just change the contract in the middle. Or imagine you have über classified photos that require security clearance and now Adobe will train their AI on them.

[@rabiatorthegreat6163]

@@test-rj2vl Über classified data should not be in the cloud in the first place. TOS shenanigans aside, the cloud provider may be hacked and the bad guys get access to The Precious that way.

[@banditalley9592]

I was thinking about not renewing my subscription - things like this make me start researching new systems, despite the upheaval it will cause

[@fablewalls]

It is painful switching from something like Photoshop to Affinity Photo, it sat on my disc for 6 months when I first tried switching. Designer however was an easier switch as I've also been using Inkscape to do things Illustrator can't or doesn't. I always hated Premiere though so swapping to Resolve was really easy. Maybe that's it - swap slowly, one or two Apps at a time?

[@sword-and-shield]

I walked when it went subscription, who didn't see what was coming?

[@Trezker]

There needs to be a law that you can always just stop paying and it's up to the company to detect that and stop your service. You should never have any obligation to do anything to quit a subscription.

[@AramnidaTV]

There is another way to get out of subscription for Adobe. Just before you get charged for another month, change your plan, and then after that you can cancel that plan, as it counts as you just started a new yearly subscription, which you can cancel within a certain amount of days.

[@xoneeleven]

We cancelled our subscription, and got a refund of the fee they charged us for canceling. If you cancel due to their terms of service, tell them that and ask for a refund. They will issue a refund for the penalty, which is usually $39.00

[@Sywiar]

A fee for cancelling... How even dare they

[@AmorLucisPhotography]

Capture One for raw processing is superb (though expensive), but offers either a subscription or perpetual licence. In my case, I never really need LR or PS. For focus stacking I use Helicon focus, which is far superior anyway. Adobe can go where the large yellow disk don't shine, so far as I'm concerned.

[@tashihope8043]

Yeah the processing in capture one is superior in every way

[@craigbarnett5992]

Capture One screwed their Customers badly by selling a new version, then announcing subscriptions a month later and denying 3 months of support that was already paid for. They are the same kind of scum as Adobe and absurdly over priced.

[@esra_erimez]

The importance of this video cannot be overstated.

[@mommasoto]

This is why I don't like the cloud. This is also why I still kept all my programs on orig disk sets so I have the option to old skool it. I figure it's better than nothing so I can still use the majority of the main standard tools on my desktop, sans any connection. At least in my ideal world that's what I'm hoping lol

[@bbellefson]

To a large corporation, customers are simply a "revenue stream" to increase shareholder returns and executive compensation. It's the Marketing and Legal Departments' job to make it look like its not.

[@00wheelie00]

So glad I'm not forced to use Adobe software professionally. I bailed when they introduced the subscription model. Used my perpetual Lightroom and Photoshop licensed for about a year until I bought a new camera that wasn't supported. Been happily using Dxo Photolab and Luminar Neo

[@portersblackboard]

I teach at a junior college and the school gives students access to Adobe products. I have been recommending Affinity products as well as other non-Adobe software for my students that don't plan on working as professional graphic artist because of the perpetual cost. I also warn them about the student discount being deceptive since it is might be a monthly fee but it is tied into one of those annual subscriptions so they can't easily cancel after a month of use. It really upsets me that this is how they treat students that are potential customers for life. It is nice to see their over-reach is shaking things up and opening up peoples minds to alternative software.

[@AndyM...]

Two words "CLASS ACTION"

[@angushume2054]

Add to this dropping support for type 1 fonts. Our $10,000 Adobe font library now unusable in any current Adobe application.

[@marcothiltgen]

why would you still use type 1 fonts, fonts who aren't supported by anyone anymore?

[@67comet]

I left the Adobe exosphere when they went subscription and went FOSS (Open Source). The learning curve was steep (and not always pleasurable), but I can honestly say I am far more proficient, and pleased with my workflow than I was bouncing between Adobe's software and Apple backed software. I also stopped using MS or Apple operating systems a long way back too. Old hardware still pumping content out at the same speeds as when I was on board with the MS/Apple tools. Most software tools need for the communication arts (audio, visual) have gotten ridiculously expensive and restricting you into their system.

[@StuMas]

Here's how you can, not only cancel your Adobe subscription, but get a months refund: Change your plan to a cheaper one and then, cancel that plan after a couple of days. I don't know if it's a bug or a legal loophole but it worked for me and a couple of friends.

[@eleghari]

Never liked the idea of subscription and never got one!

[@robogarden5723]

Affinity is the option.

[@alphanumericskeptic]

Excellent words! Thank you.

[@Anurudthb]

I heard that if you want to cancel your subscription all you have to do is instead of going to cancel your subscription. You change your subscription to something else and then you can cancel it and it won’t charge you a crap ton of money.

[@howardhamaker2708]

Why no buy affinity photo and learn it while you are waiting for the subscription runs out. Not like you won't pay more for photo. Unless it is on sale for 50% off. From what I understand it is.

[@RyanGreen]

Yeah I just don’t know yet if it’s actually the right replacement. It seems more similar to Photoshop than Lightroom, so I’m still going through the alternatives

[@Veel1]

@@RyanGreen You could try Photomator as LR replacement. I bought the perpetual license quite some time ago. The company is providing constant updates. So I'm really happy with it for my needs.

[@PhillipConroy]

DXO PhotoLab is the Lightroom alternative I use plus Affinity for the pixel editor. It's not easy to change but you can do it! :)

[@coinopanimator]

Opt-in shold be the default.

[@modparlor947]

I've had enough of Adobe roughly 17 years ago. Ditched them, never used their stuff again for anything mission-critical, never looked back. Welcome to the club.

[@steveniemiec9261]

I have CS3 fully paid for and locally loaded. I refuse to purchase anything more from Adobe unless I can buy a standalone version that I install locally without internet access.

[@RichWithTech]

I'm working on a similar video on how GoPro is screwing it's customers (the more I look into their treatment of customers, the worse it gets). Well done for speaking out against this anti-consumer stuff Re: timing leaving to avoid "loosing" the subscription I am reminded of a saying regarding divorce "It's expensive, because it's worth it" (to be rid of a toxic environment) That's how I would justify loosing money if I was you, you're really investing it in your mental health.

[@RyanGreen]

I really haven't paid all that much attention to GoPro, interested to see what you come out with!

[@RichWithTech]

@@RyanGreen It's up! Would love your feedback if you have the time, no worries if not, I found 3 flaws which will potentially destroy GoPro 9-12 on the first use. The claim of first time water leakage is supported by other users complaints on GoPro forums (appears later in the video)

[@tonybp]

Been pirating Adobe since I can remember, never felt guilty about it, much less now.

[@checkeredflagfilms]

If you don't use the cloud for back-up/storage, how can they access you files?

[@user-qm5xg4hh8s]

They use dual storage, which means even if you yourself don’t put your work on the cloud, they will do it for you. I’m pretty sure there is a toggle for this somewhere but it’s on by default.

[@heldercosta9514]

I have a macbook pro 15 2015, after upgrading to lr classic v13 it was painfully slow so I came back, but I'm having problems with the catalog since, in the adobe forum they werent much help, so Im not willing to try an upgrade again. As you mentioned it WAS slow for ages, do you know if I upgrade again it will be fine? I also had a strange bug since 12.51 that was still in 13, where i type a keyword, it introduces just the first letter and get out of the keyword box all by itself. Doesnt look like a quality product to me...

[@Synthalog]

I’m assuming that only applies to files saved on the cloud. Local files should be secured.

[@graxxor]

Unfortunately, if you use any AI generative tools on your local file then that file is uploaded, has the AI generation applied, and then it’s re-downloaded back onto your machine. Are they have your file on the server, the terms of services means that they have a right to use that file that they uploaded.

[@DigitalImageStudio]

@@graxxor a very small portion of the file is uploaded, with my crap internet I can assure you that I'd know if my 500MPx panos were being uploaded.

[@PUMAMicroscope]

Apart from money - this 'locked-in' / 'got-you-where-they-want-you' stuff is why I stick to open source software as much as possible: KDEnlinve, GIMP, Audacity, FreeCAD, gcc, etc. (all on Linux).

[@carylittleford8980]

Shotcut is my go to editor for video editing.

[@PremierPrep]

You are my friend lol! I've used a full Linux setup as well for 10+ years and Resolve for almost 6 years.

[@gcprost]

Thanks for doing this. I have been an Adobe customer since 2000. I never really looked at their business practices. I use the entire suite of their products. I’m not sure how I could replace them all.

[@--Paws--]

...ironically an Adobe ad ran at the end of the video

[@RyanGreen]

Adobe paying me to buy a replacement

[@icyjaam]

You can block internet using firewall to prevent your files from being uploaded to adobe servers.

[@RichWithTech]

Great tip but this is more about how that shouldn't be required in the first place

[@SianaGearz]

They can always move endpoints and processes, knocking out the restriction you configured on the firewall because they have effectively a backdoor running on your computer; besides you still want to pass license checks and updates, presumably, right? They can always make it so that you either get both or neither.

[@orbitaloutcast9878]

affinity is great

[@TheDatadrew]

I just cancelled my adobe subscriptions 2 months into an annual contract. I contacted customer support and told them I don't agree with their ToS, and to cancel immediately. Which they did, and tried to offer me the product for half price. I told them to piss off, and cancel. No more adobe subscription for me. I told them, they changed the rules, and I do not agree. I pulled all files, and now I am done. This stuff has to go.

[@andrewwhite889]

Thank you for the insight of how Adobe is further destroying themselves. Years ago, before subscriptions, I purchased Adobe products, especially their suite, every other version. I'm not a professional but merely a hobbyist. When they transformed to purely subscriptions I ran my last purchased suite as long as my hardware could run it then stopped. I hoped, over a time, they'd realize their exclusive subscription business model was a mistake and again offer outright purchases, but that never happened. They've completely pushed hobbyists away. The danger in that is, should hobbyists who move to other tools evolve to professionals, those professions will likely stay with what they know and not move to Adobe. As history demonstrates time and again, successful businesses reach a peak and eventually die. Greed only serves to hasten that demise. Adobe is on track to completely fail and frankly, many of us won't miss them one bit.

[@PostMeridianLyf]

open source ftw

[@mattspawn1975]

100%!

[@k16e]

Affinity Photo wtg!

[@RyanGreen]

Do you use it a lot? It seems like a good photoshop replacement, I just don’t know yet how well it replaces Lightroom!

[@k16e]

@@RyanGreen Random suggestion because it's what most people tend to be saying but I use Pixelmator/Photomator and default Apple Photos app. I don't call myself a pro photographer by any stretch, but I can't consciously let Adobe smell any bit of my money - that is an evil company

[@johnmcnairn6822]

@@RyanGreen it doesn't replace Lightroom but it replaces Photoshop....and its 50% off at the moment, 33UKP for life, no subscription

[@L.Spencer]

So if one does leave Adobe, what happens to all the photos that are dng in the LRC library? They're no longer accessible, right? And what other programs are out there? I think I'd have to wait until October, but I'm not sure.

[@xNaxdy]

first time I ever heard anyone using the phrase streets ahead in a video. glad to see another community fan!

[@DeanRockne]

Adobe is a monopoly that needs to be broken up. There are too many of us who don't really have a choice but to use them.

[@russellmania5349]

unfortunately they don't force monopoly laws or anti trust laws in the US.

[@dreammix9430]

They are a monopoly because they kept buying up all their compititon

[@DeanRockne]

@@dreammix9430 That is typically how monopolies are formed, yes.

[@dreammix9430]

@@DeanRockne which shows that our antitrust laws do not work

[@eclectic_gamer]

you will own nothing

[@Arripa-777]

Exactly what I wanted to say !

[@aussieguy261]

Starting to make sense now?

[@okman9684]

... And you will be happy (allegedly)

[@vaughngaminghd]

not even your own legacy files…

[@this_time_imperfect]

I think a lot of those technical issues you mentioned were more of an Apple problem not an Adobe problem. I switched back to a workstation PC a few years ago and I haven’t had a single crash since.

[@JA-in3hw]

I’ve been frustrated that I haven’t found another drawing software with something comparable to the photoshop mixer brush. I want to use something else but the way the others handle blending seems weaker to me.

[@craigbarnett5992]

Adapt, improvise, and overcome - or bend over and grab your ankles for Adobe.

[@julez4002]

ClipStudio

[@ojmardueno]

How about stop buying adobe products? 🤷🏽‍♂

[@FreerunMediaService]

It makes a lot of sense if you want to grab every penny you want. That is why more and more companies go to subscription based service. You even have to pay a subscription for the use of the heated seats in your car that is your car and it's already build in. It's just putting the customers in the dumb seat and grab every cent they have. There could be a little loophole though. If you want to opt out and you don't get fully opt out, it's "defective software" so you can break open the contract. Let them go to court, you will win that because you can't opt out.

[@boxoffrogs-studio]

Thanks for addressing the issue with canceling your subsription. We are on a team plan and it is very obvious in the account manager where you can ADD another subscription, basically there is a button on every page for that. But if you want to cancel one or more subscriptions/users, it is very hard to find how to do that, and it's only possible for a limited time, which as you have said is not even clearly stated. This shit should be illegal. I can only encourage people to switch. Only reason adobe can do this is because they are an industry standard. If they are not anymore they have to implement better customer centric rules again. Until that happens they will not get my money. If you want to switch too, here is my list, focusing on software with perpetual licenses or a reasonable subscription price: Photoshop: Affinity Photo Illustratior: Affinity Designer InDesign: Affinity Publisher Lightroom: Luminar Neo Premiere Pro: DaVinci Resolve Studio (even very old license keys work for new versions) After Effects: Cavalry

[@SianaGearz]

I've recently unearthed my older RAW capable camera again and have been playing around with Darktable and Rawtherapee to process the images. They seem fairly nice. BUT i'm not a photographer, i have never used Lightroom, i don't know what i'm missing.

[@iansmithtravels]

This is a great video. The underhand tactics are terrible and will bite them I think. I actually did miss my cancellation by about a month last year and so have stayed with them for another year - but that is up in August and I will be cancelling. Annoying because I’m pretty proficient with Premiere Pro

[@geoffreymee7671]

Hi Ryan. Thx for the huge heads up! This is outrageous by Adobe - "we get to use all your creative ideas four zero dollars or credit or you can never use your own files/images again"...how greedy is that. I was pondering going back to PS but won't be and certainly will not be backsliding to Premier from Resolve. Thx a million for the warning.

[@TheDuerden]

I have seen a lot of these videos over the last few days and my only thought when they crop up is - what? You weren't done when they turned software into a service?

[@glaubhafieber]

I love how serato DJ made it easy to cancel the subscription. They not only made it easy , they also reminded me that i can always use the free version if i don’t need all the pro features. If I’m ever turning from hobby DJ to professional user, I’m definitely going to re-subscribe and give my money to a fair company

[@davidharveyvideo]

I’m still on an Intel Mac running old ‘22 version. Had no idea apps didn’t work well with M1 etc. As far as subscriptions for apps it’s the same thing for stock footage. Early penalty fee for canceling and annoying.

[@gordon3178]

Companies in the uk do this as well where we pay for a 24 month contract and if your payments are not paid and the service is suspended and you can't use the service we still get charged for the month it's suspended and if the contract is terminated by the company they add the remaining amount of the contract and expect you to pay when your not getting the service from them and we can alson cancel directs so the company can't take any money from the account we can also freeze or block payments for subscriptions

[@AreaFantasma]

which other software guys do you recommend instead of adobe premiere to look for?

[@samuelchapuis7863]

"DaVinci Resolve" from BlackMagic, without the slightest hesitation! 👌

[@CharlotteKanStudio]

Davinci is fantastic! Made the switch 2 years ago and never looked back. It took me a couple of free tutorials to get started, but the way they set up the program made my workflow faster

[@BillZebubproductions]

I am furious about them deleting Encore with no warning. I had purchased the discs, but I threw them in the garbage when I switched to subscriptions. After the subscription deleted the software, i was informed that if the discs are the only way ro still use the software.

[@namirsprout9795]

I've been annoyed with Adobe for years now so I'm very happy to see people speaking out about it. I no longer feel like I'm crazy for having issues with them. I have found a way to go around their cancelation fee but I always thought that the fee being there in the first place was absurd. I hope this will shift the software landscape a bit and let other software get some spotlight, so we can end things like photoshop being an industry standard for animation despite being horrible to use for it.

[@iandavis1355]

I moved to Resolve and never looked back. Now, if I can find a parallel to Lightroom and Photoshop.

[@TheresaJenningsFineArt]

Not Lightroom, but Affinity Photo.

[@thommorris8002]

Does Adobe get access to the files on your computer or drive or just the files we put on Cloud storage?

[@RyanGreen]

They don't get free access to your drive or anything, sorry if it came across that way! It's files on the cloud, but that's not quite the same as you manually putting things in the cloud. Lots of their programs are automatically using the cloud, and certain tools use the cloud (all their generative fill and related tools, not sure exactly what else) regardless of whether you save your files locally or not. So for example: every photoshop file I've used has backed up to the cloud, and they have access to the photos, assets, text, etc that I've put in any of those sessions, going back 3-4 years

[@KimHojbergJensen]

I tried to find the date, where my annual plan expires. I failed. Do I just have to cancel to see how long I will continue to pay?

[@marscruz]

Change to a different plan. This cancels your old subscription and begins the new one. You have two weeks to cancel the new subscription. = NO PENALTY.

[@skymakai]

How do you have the photography plan for $15/mo? Pretty sure it's $19.99 USD.

[@odonkers]

Classic corporate software company tactics. Shareholders expect growth and It’s a lot easier to increase revenue (and show growth) in the short term by changing t&c’s and payment terms, than to invest in product development, innovation and delight customers. The good thing with these tactics is that it allows room for competition to move in and take piece of their market.

[@DestroyerMariko]

I'm so glad you explain more than just the current panic. I've been out of the loop for years, so glad I bought CS6 before all this was mandatory! Also sorry if two comments pop up from me, the app glitched.

[@tankfu1]

If you've ever been a creative in a corporate environment, you know exactly why this happened. As their creative-centered executives and staff got replaced, Adobe got taken over by sales people who hate artists and designers, don't understand art or design, think they do, and want to maximize short term profit over investing in anything remotely like Product Strength. That's the problem with EVERY company right now: short term profit has become the priority over having a strong, long-lasting product that attracts loyal clients. They'd prefer to chew through a couple years' worth of frustrated clients to drive their stock value up, so at the last minute before the company burns to the ground, they can jump from the C-suite and glide to their yacht on a golden parachute.

[@SteffanLewis]

I have to say, I find the Adobe customer services really good. A quick chat online and they've been really helpful. Yes, they have terms and conditions, but they're also understanding and have offered very satisfactory solutions to issues I have had. There's no way I could afford all the remarkable applications without the subscription! I remember the days when you pay a one time license fee only to find that I needed to pay for absolutely necessary updates - constantly! Those costs for multiple licences were crippling. Access to files is necessary for the functionality - and like all companies operating in the UK they are regulated and subject to the laws on copyright etc. Just sayin... and I'm not paid by Adobe!

[@danielsanichiban]

Have used photoshop, premiere, illustrator to varying degrees in and off for 25 years and the later years have just sucked. Not worth writing an essay, they’re riding the wave of their legacy. I don’t need AI, at least not until issues with core functionality of illustrator is fixed. Can we just have that first? Anyway I just tried the Affinity stuff and am happier with it. The only issue being compatibility with old work files. Nevertheless, I can see Affinity thought, what if we made replacements for Adobe software, but actually do it well. Yes, that’s a solid business idea and so far I’m backing that.

[@Dr-Curious]

I jumped ship about a decade ago (Photoshop, Illustrator). I used to absolutely love them.

[@SeventhDeven]

I'm starting to hear about a lot more graphic designers (and photographers I suppose) talking about Adobe. Am I right that most people are using Davinci resolve for video editing? Also, where are people going to edit photography and work on print designs?

[@mrobermind]

Affinity Suite and GIMP will be your goto for image editing. Affinity supports RAW.

[@fijaystudio]

I’ve seen someone make a successful bid to cancel on the grounds that the didn’t live in a country that permitted cancellation fees

[@CGFun82]

Never liked subscription plans on software. It feels like the users are being tested on a new idea and how far the users can be pushed to keep on paying. Pay once is the best softwares that gives peace of mind or go open source. Im so thankful for alternatives and the people who spend time on open source projects. Linux users are growing.

[@krysidian]

Hearing about that cancellation fee has made me avoid Adobe products with all my might. It's so incredibly scummy. Most people that want to boycott them now will think twice because of the high immediate cost, will continue to use Adobe for the year to "make use of the 80$ I paid for" and at the end of the year a lot of them will have forgotten about their desire to boycott Adobe and may not even have put in the time to learn an alternative. Because, at least for me, when I have a subscription running and I'm not using the software it feels like I'm wasting that money. Adobe keeps you tethered with that feeling and basically just wait out any controversy. They know how deeply rooted they are in their userbase but also the industry in general and absolutely abuse that power. Same thing with Autodesk. Huge software conglomerates and monopolies are a bane.

[@robbiecarrion]

I remember the first time I've tried to leave Adobe and found so difficult to delete my account. Go ahead and try it, such a headache

[@franfinesim]

this was clear for me since the first day, when I saw them offering uploading my private studd on their cloud. WTF? I'm not crazy to give any stranger my hard work! It's logical that when you use something public, that they can do with your stuff what they want

[@PPimenta]

In the apple silicon, they took ages. Also I had a issue with bugs that I reported and also took month's to be addressed. Nowadays they still take ages with addressing bugs, the last one was exporting photoshop layers to jpeg or png. The ai technology are a great adicion to adobe apps, that is a plus. Regarding the pay plan, as educator, I think adobe could offer licenses to students, they are the future clients, affinity (canvas) is going to do it.

[@pmhelsinki]

Over here in Finland I purchase a yearly licence and renew it if and when I want to. Sometimes we get offers for 15 months for a 12 month fee. I would never pay a monthly fee for software.

[@CrotZari]

For the record, I still run Windows 10 at home and the Adobe Creative Suite. In Windows 11 at work i keep having Lightroom crashing on me. It sems somewhat better at home on my Windows 10. But the new cloudversion is insanely unstable for such a highprofile program. At least the Photoshop program has a Beta-version you may install if you are curious on new features. But what bugs me is how that Beta is so stable when the ordinary Lightroom is not. Maybe Lightroom need to formalise a Beta program for new features?