Arrrrrghhhh! Did Adobe Make Leaving the Cloud Impossible?

The Struggle of Leaving Adobe Creative Cloud

Leaving Adobe Creative Cloud was a decision I made due to its high cost. However, the process turned out to be far more complicated than expected. I had started saving some of my files into the 100GB of cloud storage that came with the subscription. This meant I needed to download all those files and store them on my own drives in a more affordable way. Unfortunately, the experience was anything but smooth.

What struck me most was how Adobe made the entire process feel unnecessarily difficult. It wasn’t clear whether this was intentional or just poor design, but it definitely felt like it was designed to keep users from leaving. Many other users have shared similar frustrations, which only added to my sense of being stuck in a system that didn’t want me to go.

A Confusing System

One Adobe Community member described the system as a “convoluted, labyrinthine nightmare.” Another user, kglad, explained that the problem lies in the fact that Adobe’s cloud isn’t one unified system. Instead, it feels like four separate locations with no real connection between them. “If you try to think of these as one Adobe CC file 'feature,' yes, it's a nightmare,” they said.

I eventually discovered that there were multiple places where my files were stored: libraries, files, and Lightroom—so at least three different locations. But because everything is presented as a single file system, I assumed it was one system. That assumption led to confusion and frustration.

Downloading Files Wasn’t Easy

Adobe offers two main ways to access your files: through the Cloud app and via a browser. Both provide a similar view of your files, with options to toggle between thumbnail grids and list views. When I hovered over a file, an ellipsis (three-dot) icon appeared, revealing a menu that included a download option. However, this feature often disappeared when trying to download multiple files at once.

Sometimes, I could select multiple files using the checkmark box, but the "Download" option would vanish after selecting the second file. Other times, it would come back. This inconsistency made the process frustrating and time-consuming.

Hidden Files in Lightroom

Another challenge was finding my photos in Lightroom. I thought I had already downloaded everything, but then I realized my photos were hidden in Lightroom. After a few tedious individual downloads, I found an option to download multiple files at once. This helped, but not without its own set of issues.

Even after deleting every file from the cloud, the Adobe app still claimed I had more files stored than allowed. It was confusing and disheartening.

Exporting Photos from Lightroom

I discovered that I had uploaded 44,021 photos to Lightroom. There was also an album called “Full Photography Archive” containing 36,008 of them. While it looked full, it wasn’t all of them. To extract these files, I tried selecting all and choosing File > Export, but that didn’t work. Even though my external drive had enough space, the system refused to move any files.

Eventually, I found a workaround by exporting photos by date. Selecting a group of photos and exporting them in smaller batches worked, albeit slowly. It took about 20 minutes to export 467 files, but it was progress.

Issues with Lightroom

Lightroom itself had its own set of problems. I found that it had lost some of my RAW files, even though it could handle most images one at a time. Batch exports resulted in errors, and even JPEGs failed when exported in large numbers. The system would claim there wasn’t enough space, even when the actual file size was under 4GB.

This made me question whether Adobe wanted to slow down the process of moving files. My internet speed was around 118Mbps, which should have allowed for quick downloads. However, after an hour and a half, I hadn’t even reached halfway.

No More Cloud Storage?

After this experience, I’m not sure if I’ll ever use cloud storage again. While cloud systems offer many benefits, Adobe’s system felt slow and uncooperative. I now realize that I can store so many images on a portable hard drive that paying recurring fees doesn’t make sense.

For now, I’m looking into alternatives to Adobe Lightroom and considering better storage solutions. The experience has been a lesson in patience, but also in the importance of having control over my data.