Products · Product
Adobe
Raised as a usability problem by 447 people on Hacker News over 19 years (2008–2026), in 296 threads.
- 1Subscriptions are hard to cancelUnreviewed
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- 2Subscriptions are hard to cancelUnreviewed
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- 12Unintuitive interfaces slow users downUnreviewed
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Every issue, all time, most people first
Subscriptions are hard to cancelUnreviewed
20082026- Users find it hard to cancel subscriptions due to dark patterns2026-05-19
- Adobe makes cancelling a subscription difficult, so the user needs an AI browser to get through it2026-01-19
- Annoying dark patterns push people into subscriptions they did not choose2025-07-31
Can't uninstall apps without signing into an accountUnreviewed
20082026- Couldn't uninstall apps because the required login and 2FA didn't work2024-06-17
- Uninstaller uses dark patterns that push users into staying installed2024-06-10
- Forced to accept terms just to uninstall, and uninstaller fails without an account2024-06-10
Frequent interface changes force returning users to relearn softwareUnreviewed
20082026- Required an Adobe account and took ages of tinkering to get working, even for IT experts2025-12-22
- Switching to Adobe tools requires syncing files and installing, unlike live multi-user editing2025-07-31
- Apps getting steadily harder to use, with AI features bolted into every app2025-01-31
Apps are slow to start, showing splash screens before usableUnreviewed
20082026- Takes very long to start up, sometimes minutes, staring at splash screen2022-11-16
- App is slow to start and laggy to interact with2022-09-02
- UI freezes for several seconds when working with many objects2022-01-05
Auto-renewal can't be cancelled until the final 30 daysUnreviewed
20082026- Can't set subscription to not auto-renew except in a brief window; cancelling by phone fails2024-06-17
- Cancelling requires 3-4 screens with renewal options that push users into renewing2024-06-13
- No way to turn off auto-renew, and early cancellation bills the full yearly amount2023-12-14
PDFs load slowly and need zooming and scrolling instead of page clicksUnreviewed
20082026- Reader is so slow it can't smoothly scroll a two-page PDF2022-11-22
- PDF viewer's interface feels slow and laggy, unlike fast rendering engines2022-09-30
- Adobe Reader on Windows is absolutely horrible to use for reading PDFs2022-03-09
Installer is a nightmare; store pop-ups appear during activationUnreviewed
20082026- Installs unwanted extra software and shows popups and ads over the document being read2025-08-25
- Installer is a nightmare and store pop-ups appear when activating normal UI2022-09-15
- Getting the installer file requires jumping through cookie hoops2014-02-01
DRM ebooks hard to read on Linux; reader barely runs under WineUnreviewed
20082026- Getting DRM-protected ebooks onto a reader requires many awkward steps across multiple tools2025-12-22
- Forced to use Adobe Digital Editions to get eBook files, which the commenter doesn't want2025-12-20
- Forces users to install hostile Windows software with a crappy UI to read purchased ebooks2023-09-17
Update prompts appear after weeks unused, with confusing interfacesUnreviewed
20082026- Update prompts interrupt work and documents don't open after updating2020-05-14
- Awkward UI and frequent update prompts every week2017-11-18
- Opening help triggers update prompts and downloads, then content fails to show2012-05-28
One cross-platform UI makes interfaces non-standard on each platformUnreviewed
20082026- Established desktop apps have clunky, cumbersome UIs that are hard to use2016-05-22
- Usability still found weak and it does not follow native UI conventions2015-04-09
- Cross-platform apps ignore platform conventions, so users find widgets behaving unfamiliarly and get frustrated2011-12-28
Unintuitive interfaces slow users downUnreviewed
20082026- Desktop Adobe apps feel slow and bloated when working on drawings2018-10-30
- Interactive lag makes Adobe software feel unusable even for small workflows2015-07-08
- Blocking Adobe apps takes about seven click-navigate-click operations per app2011-08-16
Hard to find how to buy the non-discounted monthly planUnreviewed
20082026- Basic all-apps plan is hard to find; main page only shows pricier plan2026-04-19
- Hard to find how to buy the non-discounted monthly plan2025-04-12
- Can't find a way to change plan, only cancel or buy new ones2022-09-19
Too many pop-ups stop users getting work doneUnreviewed
20082026- Can't do what they want because of repeated AI and subscription popups2026-02-04
- Too many pop-ups make it hard to get work done2025-08-27
- Slow and sluggish, with dark patterns and annoying pop-ups pushing users around2025-08-25
Background process can't be stopped and restarts after rebootUnreviewed
20082026- Users can't easily stop or remove the Creative Cloud background process, which restarts after reboot2024-06-08
- Runs background processes even when no Adobe app is open2023-12-18
- Background processes run constantly and can't be identified or disabled by users2021-10-26
App keeps nagging to renew after cancelling, and uninstalling is hardUnreviewed
20082026- Uninstalling via Windows Add & Remove Programs leaves apps phoning home and still charging the user2026-04-03
- Uninstalling is hard, and the app keeps nagging to renew after cancelling2024-06-17
- Cloud app is hard to remove and must be manually deactivated repeatedly2023-05-09
Fillable PDF form won't fill in Acrobat Reader; Firefox saving breaks itUnreviewed
20082026- Government form PDF only opens in Windows desktop Acrobat, not Android2025-06-06
- Fillable PDF form refuses to fill in Acrobat Reader, and saving in Firefox breaks it for Acrobat users2024-03-04
- Homework PDF forms only submit in Adobe Reader, excluding Mac Preview and Linux users2011-10-10
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Eight distracting AI promotion elements appear on opening a document and can't be cleared2026-10-22
- Slow, bloated, and forces an AI assistant popup on every PDF open2026-10-13
- Cancelling required a temporary card workaround and a payment-method swap across several steps2026-10-12
- Unnecessary toolbars, popups and upsells block the document the user wants to read2026-07-20
- Acrobat stops saving files if left running, forcing repeated quit and relaunch2026-07-14
- Cancelling requires phoning and repeatedly insisting through retention offers2026-07-06
- Timeline editor is counterintuitive for programmers, so most developers dislike it2026-06-15
- Linked text needs manual updating to reload; EPUB export is painful2026-05-26
- Tiny text edits cause hard-to-predict layout changes; silent visual glitches make it unreliable2026-05-26
- Annual plan pricing and early termination terms are unclear, trapping users into fees2026-05-19
- Annual plan labelled as paid monthly, so users don't realize the cancellation fee applies2026-05-19
- Users find it hard to cancel subscriptions due to dark patterns2026-05-19
- Cancelling Creative Cloud is so hard the commenter cancelled their card instead2026-05-18
- Same functions have different icons and shortcuts across apps, making them hard to learn2026-05-07
- Closes hundreds of unwanted modal dialogs and tours that interrupt work every day2026-05-06
- Can't tell which buttons are clickable versus disabled or grayed out2026-05-05
- DRM-protected PDFs open only on two PCs with Acrobat plugin2026-04-23
- Yearly contract disguised as monthly plan, people don't realize the commitment2026-04-20
- Basic all-apps plan is hard to find; main page only shows pricier plan2026-04-19
- Illustrator doesn't remember the user's print settings between uses2026-04-19
- Annual plan billed monthly, with early exit costing half the remaining term2026-04-19
- Monthly plan sign-up hides a yearly contract with termination fees2026-04-19
- Lightroom lags noticeably when opening and closing panels on a powerful desktop2026-04-19
- Uninstalling via Windows Add & Remove Programs leaves apps phoning home and still charging the user2026-04-03
- Can't do what they want because of repeated AI and subscription popups2026-02-04
- Export produces malformed animation files, random texture sizes, and crashes when packing large textures2026-01-26
- Adobe makes cancelling a subscription difficult, so the user needs an AI browser to get through it2026-01-19
- Adobe products treat users in a hostile, disrespectful way2025-12-23
- Getting DRM-protected ebooks onto a reader requires many awkward steps across multiple tools2025-12-22
- Required an Adobe account and took ages of tinkering to get working, even for IT experts2025-12-22
- Forced to use Adobe Digital Editions to get eBook files, which the commenter doesn't want2025-12-20
- Must open ACSM files in Adobe Digital Editions to get the book2025-12-19
- PDF software feels cluttered with features the user never asked for2025-12-14
- Support only offers reverting or resetting; fixes break other things; Media Encoder separate and syncs poorly2025-11-24
- UI not standardised between apps; same icons differ, and apps perform poorly2025-11-12
- AI summarize offer pops up every time a document opens2025-10-24
- No explanation in app or preferences for what it was doing2025-10-16
- Too many AI buttons cluttering the UI, but can't find how to see chapters2025-10-16
- Annotations get stuck open in Preview and insertions cannot be viewed2025-10-16
- Software is counterintuitive and consumes too many resources, making it slow2025-10-15
- Background service keeps PDFs open, so users can't delete files they opened2025-10-15
- Some functions are tedious to change or buried too many menus deep2025-09-15
- Too many pop-ups make it hard to get work done2025-08-27
- Installs unwanted extra software and shows popups and ads over the document being read2025-08-25
- Slow and sluggish, with dark patterns and annoying pop-ups pushing users around2025-08-25
- Switching to Adobe tools requires syncing files and installing, unlike live multi-user editing2025-07-31
- Annoying dark patterns push people into subscriptions they did not choose2025-07-31
- Signing up is easy but unsubscribing is extremely difficult, deliberately2025-06-30
- The commenter finds the app's overall interface clumsy to use2025-06-23
- Takes a long time to load and feels very heavy on a recent PC2025-06-16