Last updated: June 16, 2016
The Adobe Privacy Policy describes the privacy practices of Adobe’s apps and websites. If you are a resident of North America, your relationship is with Adobe Systems Incorporated, a United States company, and the laws of California and the laws of the United States apply.
If you reside outside of North America, your relationship is with Adobe Systems Software Ireland Limited, which is the controller with regard to your personal information collected by Adobe, and the laws of Ireland apply. Please note that in order to use our apps and websites, you authorize Adobe to transfer your personal information across national borders and to other countries where Adobe and its partners operate, including the United States. The privacy protections and rights of authorities to access your information in these countries may not be equivalent to those in your country. We will only transfer your personal information to these countries where permitted to do so by law and we will take steps intended to ensure that your personal information continues to receive appropriate protections. For more information, please see the section “Does Adobe transfer my personal information across national borders?”
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What does this privacy policy cover?
This privacy policy describes the privacy practices of Adobe’s websites, as well as our desktop apps and mobile apps that include a link to this policy (in this policy, we refer to our desktop apps and mobile apps together as "apps"). Note that “websites” include web-based services such as Behance, as well as the web-based aspects of the Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, and other Adobe offerings. This privacy policy also applies to Adobe’s marketing and advertising practices. Additional privacy-related information is provided for certain Adobe apps and websites. Please also see the Adobe Terms of Use and any additional Terms of Use or Product License Agreements that may apply to the app or website you are using. Companies acquired by Adobe may operate under their own privacy policies (learn more).
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What information does Adobe collect about me?
Adobe ID, registration, and customer support
When you register to use an Adobe app or website, create an Adobe ID, or contact us for support or other offerings, Adobe collects information that identifies you. This includes information such as your name, company name, email address, or payment information. We may also sometimes collect other information that does not identify you, such as which types of apps you’re interested in. Some of this information is required and other information is optional. For student and teacher editions of our apps, information regarding your eligibility is required. To help keep our databases current and to provide you the most relevant content and experiences, we may combine information provided by you with information from other sources, in accordance with applicable law. For example, from these sources, we may learn about the size, industry, and other information about the company you work for.
Adobe apps and websites
We collect information about how you use our apps and websites, including when you use a desktop app feature that takes you online (such as a photo syncing feature). We may collect information sent by your browser or device to our servers whenever you visit an Adobe website or use an Adobe app. For example, your browser or device may tell us your IP address (which may tell us generally where you are located) and the type of browser and device you used. When you visit an Adobe website, your browser may also tell us information such as the page that led you to our website and, if applicable, the search terms you typed into a search engine that led you to our website. Adobe may collect information about how you use our websites and apps by using cookies and similar technologies, and our servers may collect similar information when you are logged in to the app or website. Depending on the app or website, this information may be anonymous (for example, see the Adobe Product Improvement Program) or it may be associated with you (for example, see the Desktop Usage Tracking FAQ). Learn more about:
- Information that specific Adobe apps or websites may collect
- Your privacy choices regarding how we use this information
- How Adobe uses cookies and similar technologies
Also, we use automated systems to analyze your content using techniques such as machine learning in order to improve our apps and websites. This analysis may occur as the content is sent or received using an online feature of an Adobe app or website, or when the content is stored on Adobe servers. (Learn more or opt out)
Adobe app activation and automatic updates
When you activate your Adobe app or when you install updates to the app, we collect certain information about your device (including your IP address), the Adobe app, and your product serial number (learn more). Some of our apps include features that connect to our servers and offer you the ability to install updates to the app. We may keep track of information such as whether the update was successful or not. We may use the information collected through activation or app updates to validate your copy of the app and confirm that it is genuine and properly licensed.
Adobe emails
Emails we send you may include a technology (called a web beacon) that tells Adobe whether you have received or opened the email, or clicked a link in the email. If you do not want us to collect this information from Adobe marketing emails, you can opt out of receiving Adobe marketing emails.
Adobe online advertising
Adobe advertises online in a variety of ways, including displaying Adobe ads to you on other companies' websites and apps. We collect information such as which ads are displayed, which ads are clicked on, and on where the ad was displayed. Learn more about Adobe’s advertising practices.
Buttons, tools, and content from other companies
Adobe apps and websites may include buttons, tools, or content that link to other companies’ services (for example, a Facebook "Like" button). We may collect information about your use of these features. In addition, when you see or interact with these buttons, tools, or content, or view an Adobe web page or app containing them, some information from your browser may automatically be sent to the other company. Please read that company’s privacy policy for more information.
Adobe social networking pages and social sign-on services
Adobe has its own pages on many social networking sites (for example, the Adobe® Photoshop® team’s Facebook page). You may also be able to sign in to an Adobe app or website using a social networking account, such as a Facebook account. We may collect information when you interact with our social networking pages or use these sign-on features. Learn more about Adobe’s social networking practices.
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How does Adobe use the information it collects about me?
Adobe uses the information we collect about you in a number of ways, such as:
- Providing you with the Adobe apps and websites for which you have registered, as well as any services, support, or information you have requested
- Better understanding how our websites and apps are being used so we can improve them and engage and retain users
- Using automated systems to analyze your content using techniques such as machine learning in order to improve our services. This analysis may occur as the content is sent, received, or when it is stored. (Learn more or opt out)
- Diagnosing problems in our apps and websites
- Tailoring a website, app, or Adobe ad to your likely interests
- Sending you business messages such as those related to payments or expiration of your subscription
- Sending you information about Adobe, new app releases, special offers, and similar information (learn more)
- Conducting market research about our customers, their interests, and the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns
- Reducing fraud, software piracy, and protecting you as well as Adobe
- As further described for a specific Adobe app or website
Learn about your privacy choices regarding how we use your information.
What are cookies and how does Adobe use them?
As with most websites, Adobe uses cookies and similar technologies to make our websites work as well as to learn more about our users and their likely interests (learn more).
Adobe websites may also use cookies and similar technologies from other companies that allow us to gather additional information to measure and improve the effectiveness of the Adobe Experience Cloud advertising services.
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Does Adobe share my personal information?
Adobe works with companies that help us run our business. These companies provide services such as delivering customer support, processing credit card payments, and sending emails on our behalf. In some cases, these companies have access to some of your personal information in order to provide services to you on our behalf. They are not permitted to use your information for their own purposes.
Adobe may also share your personal information:
- When you agreed to the sharing
- Within the Adobe family of companies for purposes described in this privacy policy (see a list of Adobe entities and our acquired companies)
- With our resellers and other sales partners if you are a business customer and agreed to receive Adobe marketing communications. Note that we do not share personal information about consumers with third parties for their own marketing purposes unless the consumer agreed to that sharing.
- When we are required to provide information in response to a subpoena, court order, or other applicable law or legal process (learn more)
- When we have a good faith belief that the disclosure is necessary to prevent or respond to fraud, defend our apps or websites against attacks, or protect the property and safety of Adobe, our customers and users, or the public
- If we merge with or are acquired by another company, sell an Adobe website, app, or business unit, or if all or a substantial portion of our assets are acquired by another company. In those cases your information will likely be one of the assets that is transferred
We may share or publish aggregate information that doesn’t specifically identify you, such as statistical information about visitors to our websites or statistical information about how customers use the Adobe Experience Cloud.
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Is my personal information displayed anywhere on Adobe’s websites or applications?
There are several places within Adobe’s websites and apps that allow you to post comments, upload pictures, or submit content for others to see. Sometimes you can limit who can see what you share, but there are some places where what you share can be seen by the general public or other users of the app or website. Please be careful when you share your personal information. Do not share anything you wouldn’t want publicly known unless you are sure you are posting it within an app or website that allows you to control who sees what you post. Please note that when you post messages on certain user forums on our websites and app, your email address or name may be included and displayed with your message.
To remove content you have shared on our websites and apps, please use the same app or website feature you used to share the content. If another user invites you to participate in shared viewing, editing, or commenting of content, you may be able to delete your contributions, but usually the user who invited you has full control. If you have questions or concerns about this, please contact us.
Is my personal information secure?
We understand that the security of your personal information is important. We provide reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security controls to protect your personal information. However, despite our efforts, no security controls are 100% effective and Adobe cannot ensure or warrant the security of your personal information.
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Where does Adobe store my personal information?
Your personal information and files are stored on Adobe’s servers and the servers of companies we hire to provide services to us. Your personal information may be transferred across national borders because we have servers located worldwide and the companies we hire to help us run our business are located in different countries around the world.
Does Adobe transfer my personal information across national borders?
We may transfer your personal information across national borders to other countries in compliance with applicable laws.
As mentioned above, if you reside outside of North America, your relationship is with Adobe Systems Software Ireland Limited (Adobe Ireland). For these individuals, when we transfer your personal information from the European Economic Area (EEA) to a non-EEA country, we do so using a variety of legal mechanisms including Standard Contractual Clauses, while also relying on your consent.
If the content or data that you store on Adobe apps or websites contains the personal information of individuals from the EEA , you agree that you have the legal authority to transfer the personal information to Adobe, including the transfer to countries such as the United States where the privacy protections and rights of authorities to access personal data may not be equivalent to those in the EEA.
The U.S. Department of Commerce continues to administer the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor program despite a European Court of Justice decision that invalidated Safe Harbor in October 2015. Adobe Systems Incorporated (our U.S. company) is retaining its Safe Harbor certification pending U.S. and EU government action on a replacement program.
The information above applies to Adobe users that have agreed to the Adobe Privacy Policy. More information is available for our business customers that want to learn more about European data transfers.
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How can I review or update my personal information or close my Adobe ID account?
Under the law of some countries, you may have the right to access the information Adobe holds about you, correct mistakes in that information, and to delete personal information that we no longer have business reasons for retaining. Many of our websites and apps allow you to edit your personal information by accessing the "my account," "my profile," or a similar feature of the app or website you are using. Likewise, you can delete files or photos you have stored in our websites and apps by logging in and using the deletion functions they make available.
To request that we remove your email address from our marketing database, deactivate your Adobe ID account, or provide you a copy of your personal information, please email your request to privacy@adobe.com. Please note that we need to retain certain information about you for legal and internal business reasons, such as fraud prevention. We will retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide you with the websites and apps you are eligible to use with your Adobe ID and as needed to comply with our legal obligations and enforce our agreements.
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Will Adobe market to me?
The Adobe family of companies (see list of Adobe entities and our acquired companies) and companies we hire to help us market our websites and apps on our behalf may use your information to provide you with information and offers related to Adobe. We give you choices regarding our marketing practices.
What information is collected by companies using Adobe Experience Cloud solutions?
Adobe Experience Cloud solutions help our business customers personalize and improve the performance of their websites, apps, and marketing messages. For example, these customers may use Adobe Experience Cloud solutions to collect and analyze information about how you use their websites (learn more). The data collected is stored on our computers for use by these business customers.
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Will this privacy policy change?
Occasionally, we may change this privacy policy (or other documents in the Adobe Privacy Center) to allow Adobe to use or share your personal information in a different way. If we do, the links to the policy on our websites (which are generally found in the footer of the website) will indicate that the policy has been changed. For new users, the change will become effective upon posting. For existing users, if the change is significant, it will become effective 30 days after posting. We encourage you to periodically review the Adobe Privacy Center for the latest information on our privacy practices.
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Who can I contact with questions or concerns?
If you have a privacy question or concern, please email us at privacy@adobe.com.