Inspiring

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Adobe Stock account deactivated for suspicious‑activity

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Hi everyone, hoping for real‑world advice from other contributors.

My Adobe Stock contributor account got fully deactivated with this generic automated notice:

We are writing to let you know that your Adobe Stock contributor account has been deactivated for suspicious activity. For more information on why your account may have been blocked see the Submission Guidelines.

No exact violation given. I experienced two sudden 5‑10x earnings surges within the past two weeks, and the sales were mostly driven by aerial‑shot footage of the same type. I submitted a payout request roughly ten days ago, shortly before my account got deactivated.

Some context about my portfolio and recent behavior: All my photos and video assets are 100% original self‑shot travel content. I can provide raw files and metadata for any asset for verification. This stock income is a vital source of funding for my daily life and travel‑photography projects. This unexpected deactivation has completely thrown my photography and travel plans into disarray.

I’ve sent an appeal email to Contributor Relations already. I explained the originality of all my footage and asked for the exact trigger behind the block.

It is baffling to see so many contributors running into this same unreasonable situation, yet Adobe seems to take no action to address this widespread issue.

Now I’m trying to figure out: How realistic are my chances to get the account reinstated in this scenario? If my appeal succeeds, will I keep my currently frozen earnings as well as revenue generated while my account was deactivated?

Any shared experience, warning or practical tips would be really helpful. Thank you.

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Kindhearted_Glitter8e37Correct answer

Inspiring

Update: Adobe just informed me my account has been reactivated, but around $300 of my earnings were withheld. It took 50 days from my appeal to get reinstated. I have my account back, yet I’ll be anxious every time I request a payout going forward.

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bristy2025

Participant

Did you got back your account after deactivating.

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Kindhearted_Glitter8e37Author

Inspiring

Unfortunately, not yet. It could still take several more weeks.

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210789

Participating Frequently

Another same situation here. My account got the same generic email today, without any specific reasons for the deactivation. The funny part is that my account is very small, I just have 14 videos accepted and I got a recent "spike" of 3 downloads in one of them + other 5 individual downloads in others which generated enough money to ask for a payout about a week ago. I also have submitted recently 10 new videos and they were in review.

Now, I asked for a detailed explanation for the deactivation and I'm waiting until I get some news. I hope Adobe people take care of real people like us who generate legitimate work and therefore real value.

I'll be posting here if I get any news from my case.

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daniellei4510

Community Expert

I doubt you’ll get a reply with regard to asking for further details. File and appeal if you haven’t already done so and wait. Do not request follow ups, as this can potentially create new case numbers and further delay an already slow investigation process.

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Adobe Community Expert | I have miles to go before I sleep, but I'm all done on this end.

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210789

Participating Frequently

Is there any specific link for appeals? I just followed the "Contact Us" link that Adobe place as the only option when you log in your deactivated contributor's account.

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RALPH_L

Community Expert

My account was reactivated 5 weeks after being closed. Two days later it was deactivated again. Do to the number of deactivated accounts and that my account was deactivated two days after being reactivated I believe there is a new automation involved in account suspensions.

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daniellei4510

Community Expert

I think you’re right, and there has been a lot of collateral damage in the process.

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Adobe Community Expert | I have miles to go before I sleep, but I'm all done on this end.

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Travel To Exist

Participant

Same here, I’m also an aerial travel creator of my constant travels. Exact same situation, it’s been 8 days since my account got deactivated. Hopefully gets back up soon. All the best.

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Nancy OShea

Community Expert

Customers can neither see nor buy content from deactivated accounts.
Your account is on hold while an internal audit is being conducted.
The audit may take several weeks or months depending on case load.
When you receive a favorable outcome, you’ll be able to make payment requests again.

Be patient. Work on other projects & submit to outside services.

Do not submit repeated requests for updates. It hinders the process and slows things down.

Good luck.

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Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

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Madeleine2182

Inspiring

I don’t have any advice as you’ve done exactly what you’re supposed to do but just wanted to say that I’ve been in the same position twice this year. Similar story and I’m a travel photograpger too. My account has just been reinstated for the 2nd time, who knows how long it will stay live this time.

The reason given both times were excessive downloads, I didn’t see spikes either time. However, if this is what caused your suspension and you’ve had nothing to do with it they will hopefully review your account favourably. The only issue is the wait time, they seem inundated with tickets due to this spike in suspensions. It took 47 days the first time and just under a month the second time for me. Credit card fraud seems to be the problem and we have no way of protecting our accounts from this.

Best of luck, I hope you get your account back.

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jodij28273193

Inspiring

What advice do you want us to give you? We have as much knowledge as you do about the situation. It's a sit-and-wait game.

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Kindhearted_Glitter8e37Author

Inspiring

I have submitted an appeal via https://survey.adobe.com/jfe/form/SV_74fM1z4DvUPyPlk. My main priority is to get clear answers to the questions I laid out above, as well as find out how long this entire process typically takes. I’ve seen all kinds of different claims across many forum threads. On top of that, I believe Adobe will only take this matter seriously if more affected contributors share their ordeals publicly. This can help prevent more innocent contributors from suffering the same fate down the line.

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daniellei4510

Community Expert

Your only option is to continue wait. Investigations can take week or even months. You’ve submitted an appeal and that is all you can do. Do not contact Adobe for status updates, as this can slow down an already slow process.

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Adobe Community Expert | I have miles to go before I sleep, but I'm all done on this end.

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