Content ModerationConsumer FacingVerified

Reviewed and published by trentmaziarz, March 18, 2026. Discovered and drafted by our automated research pipeline.

Adobe Stock, which licenses photos, illustrations, and videos to creative professionals, requires contributors to label any content made with AI tools before submitting it. Adobe also uses automated systems to detect policy violations — such as AI images depicting real people or referencing copyrighted characters — and has removed thousands of assets for breaking these rules. This policy launched in December 2022.

Details

Contributors must check a "Created using generative AI tools" checkbox at upload, and Adobe's systems categorize and review AI-generated content for policy compliance. Prohibitions include prompts referencing named artists, real individuals, fictional characters, and third-party intellectual property. AI-generated content is banned from the Illustrative Editorial collection. Content Credentials are attached to AI-generated assets when downloaded. Adobe pays an annual Firefly Contributor Bonus to Stock contributors whose licensed content was used to train Firefly, though contributors have no opt-out and were not given specific consent for training use.

Products affected

Adobe Stock

Sources & Evidence

Company Disclosure

Company DisclosureVerified

Amplifying human creativity: Adobe Stock defines new guidelines for content made with generative AI

Adobe Blog·Dec 2025

https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2022/12/05/amplifying-human-creativity-adobe-stock-defines-new-guidelines-content-generative-ai

Company DisclosureVerified

Generative AI Content

Adobe Stock Contributor Help·Jun 2024

https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/generative-ai-content.html

Company DisclosureVerified

Growing responsibly in the age of AI: Adobe Firefly and Stock

Adobe Blog·Apr 2024

https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2024/04/16/growing-responsibly-age-of-ai-adobe-firefly-stock

Cite this record

Trace Foundation. (2026). Adobe: Adobe Stock, which licenses photos, illustrations, and videos to creative professionals, requires contributors to label any content made with AI tools before submitting it. Adobe also uses automated systems to detect policy violations — such as AI images depicting real people or referencing copyrighted characters — and has removed thousands of assets for breaking these rules. This policy launched in December 2022 (data as of 2026-03-18) [Data set record]. AI Trace. https://www.aitrace.org/r/practice/dbbeb4bd-16ce-4d33-850d-6127ba2984ef. Accessed September 20, 2026.

Stable link: https://www.aitrace.org/r/practice/dbbeb4bd-16ce-4d33-850d-6127ba2984ef
Data as of: March 18, 2026
Last verified: February 28, 2026

How to cite AI Trace

Other practices by Adobe

OtherIn June 2024, Adobe pushed updated Terms of Use to all Creative Cloud users that required mandatory acceptance before they could continue using their software. The language alarmed many users and creative professionals who believed Adobe was claiming the right to use their personal work to train AI models. Adobe published clarifications and then released fully revised terms later that month.OtherAdobe InDesign version 21.2, released in January 2026, added an AI feature that automatically generates alt text — written descriptions of images used by screen readers to assist people who are blind or have low vision. The feature is on by default and has received mixed reactions from users about its accuracy.OtherAdobe has maintained a formal set of AI ethics principles since 2019, built around three pillars: Accountability, Responsibility, and Transparency. Every product team developing an AI feature must complete an internal AI Ethics Impact Assessment before launch. Adobe updated these principles in October 2024.

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