Adobe analyses your images: How to protect yourself against it

In terms of data protection, Adobe is currently making a lot of enemies after the company adjusted its terms of use on 5 June 2024. According to this, Adobe may access your content in the Adobe Cloud (2.2). This applies to all text, information and communication, as well as all audio and video materials, documents and images that you upload to Adobe or that you process with their programmes.

The provision is not new in itself, but has been slightly revised. The most important point here is that your content can now be viewed both automatically and manually. Here you can see all the adjustments in pink:

However, the adjustment also highlighted points that have been included since the new terms of use from February 2024. Concerns arise, for example, with regard to Adobe's Analyses for AI. Some fear that their works will be used to train Adobe's AI. The reason for this is that Adobe analyses content that you process or save on its servers. But not locally stored files. What would speak against AI training is that Adobe does not incorporate the content into their products unless you publish it.

Considerations are also raised by section 4.2 of the Terms of Use: Adobe apparently takes the rights to your content here, for the purpose of operating and improving their services and software. However, you retain ownership (4.3.). It is therefore unlikely that Adobe will take possession of your creative works.

What can you do?

Adobe's customers are annoyed and feel under a lot of pressure to accept the adjusted conditions. Especially for projects and data that must remain strictly under lock and key. However, you can influence the analyses that Adobe carries out on your projects.

First: If you have a company account, you will not be included in the analyses. Adobe also says this explicitly. If you have a plan as a private individual, you can deactivate the content analysis as follows:

1. First go to the following link and sign in with your Adobe account.
2. In the "Content analysis" section, uncheck the "Allow Adobe to analyse my content for product improvement and development purposes" box.

That's it - at least for the first part. The second part is a bit more complicated. Adobe's analysis programs continue to run even when deactivated - provided you have consented to other analyses or use individual functions in the programs that are based on an analysis. You must therefore deactivate the option separately. This mainly affects Photoshop:

• Adobe Photoshop enhancement programme: As part of this programme, you submit your images edited in Photoshop to improve the functions based on machine learning. How to switch off the function:

1. Select in Photoshop: Edit (Windows) / Photoshop (macOS) > Preferences > Product Enhancement.
2. In the "Preferences" dialogue box, deactivate the option "Yes, I want to participate."
3. Restart Photoshop for this change to take effect.

You cannot deactivate anything for the following programmes or functions:

• Adobe Stock: Content submitted by participants can be used for machine learning.
• When you submit content to certain functions as feedback
• For beta, pre-release or early access products or functions

• If you use AI functions yourself, as these are based on content analysis techniques (such as content-based filling in Photoshop)

  Adobe also explains how the analysis works in detail in a further section.

  Adobe is not the only data octopus

  More and more companies are now using their customers' data to feed AI software. Meta has also recently adapted its regulations for this purpose. You can take action against this, at least in Europe. My colleague Florian has done a great job of explaining this:

If you are looking for alternative programmes to Adobe software, you might find what you are looking for here.