I’ve used and loved Photoshop for as long as I can remember. Back in the day, you purchased the program (for a pretty darned steep amount) and used it until another version came out that had so many new features you couldn’t help but upgrade. Same with all their other programs, many I also still use. Adobe is subscription based only now and I’m paying $64.19 every month.
So lets talk about the terms of service for Adobe…
There’s a lot of talk about Adobe Photoshop using the photos of their subscribers for AI purposes. This stems from their updated Terms of Service in June 2024.
Merida is my dog. Since I resized her photo below in Photoshop, can Adobe use that image for their own purposes even when I’m paying them almost $65 bucks a month?
Their TOS (Terms of Service) said yes.
4.2 Licenses to your Content. Solely for the purposes of operating or improving the Services and Software, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free sublicensable, license, to use, reproduce, publicly display, distribute, modify, create derivative works base on, publicly perform, and translate the Content.
After a ton of backlash, Adobe updated their TOS again just days later.
But because of technology advancements and to cover their ass, their updated TOS still grants them rights that are somewhat uncomfortable for end users. They’ve now prefaced each section with a “what this section means” paragraph. Of course, the explanation isn’t a part of the actual TOS, so what they say it means today may not be what it means tomorrow.
As more and more people become concerned about their privacy — and how their personal data is being used and sold (including everything from what we search for, read and buy — to where we live and our personal identifiers — including our photos and digital content and beyond), we can expect many, many changes as we journey forward.
Now you know: In the John Lennon hit “Whatever Gets You Through The Night”, the person singing backup vocals and playing keys was Elton John.