Content moderation

Moderation process overview

Every piece of content submitted to Adobe Stock undergoes moderation before it becomes available to customers. Moderation ensures all content meets our technical, legal, and creative standards while maintaining trust and safety across our global marketplace. 

The moderation process is handled by a dedicated team of moderators that carefully evaluates each submission for detail and consistency. Submissions are assessed against the Contributor submission guidelines, as well as legal, ethical, and technical requirements.

Moderation timeline

Moderation times vary based on the volume of content in the review queue. Upload limits help manage this volume and reduce the overall time required to approve or refuse content for Adobe Stock.

Contributors will receive a notification in the Contributor Portal when content is approved or refused.

Moderator evaluation criteria

Moderators assess submissions based on several factors: 

• Technical quality: Sharpness, exposure, resolution, noise, compression, artifacts, and overall clarity.
• Intellectual property (IP) compliance: Identifiable people, property, brands, or designs must be accompanied by appropriate releases or removed.
• Commercial value: Whether the content meets the current needs of our customers.
• Metadata quality: Titles and keywords must accurately describe the content.
• Uniqueness and relevance: How original or distinctive the content is, and whether it addresses customer needs in our collection.

Approved content submissions

If a submission is accepted, it appears in the Adobe Stock collection and becomes available globally. Performance and earnings can be tracked through the Contributor Dashboard in the Contributor Portal.

Content refusal reasons

Submissions that don't meet the required standards are refused, and a refusal reason is provided in the Contributor Portal. Common reasons include:

• Technical issues (e.g., blur, overprocessing, noise) 
• Missing or incorrect model or property releases 
• Intellectual property violations 
• Metadata errors 
• Generative AI anomalies (e.g., extra limbs, distorted faces, inaccurate details) 
• Similar content already exists in the Adobe Stock collection 

The moderation team cannot provide detailed, individual feedback for every submission. Reviewing the Contributor guidelines and refining content before resubmission can help improve outcomes. It plays a key role in maintaining the quality and integrity of Adobe Stock content, maintaining trust across the marketplace, and ensuring high‑quality work gains visibility.

Adobe Stock is designed to support Contributor success. Content that meets quality, legal, and relevance standards is more likely to be licensed, contributing to stronger overall performance.

Learning resources for Contributors

To learn more about submission standards and improve your chances of approval, explore these resources:

• Account and submission guidelines 
• Adobe Stock’s Contributor handbook 
• Common reasons for content refusal 
• Distinct content submission guidelines
• Known restrictions