rejection due to image similarity

Forum|Forum|8 months ago
June 14, 2025
3 replies
821 views

Received from Adobe a refusal to accept the image due to the reason 'Similar content in our collection'. It was found that my submission closely resembles content already available on Adobe Stock. But I can't find a similar illustration in the collection with a rugby player with a ball in exactly this pose. Instead, the search returns a large number of identical images that have not been commented on. It seems that someone uploads dozens of identical images in batches and for some reason they are accepted. And someone uploads a few and gets rejected.

daniellei4510

Community Expert

I believe this line is key:

Diversify Metadata: Adjust metadata for the unique attributes of each submission as repeating the same titles and keywords for similar submissions can lead to content being refused.

I have had at least 10 out of 13 or so "similar" rejections ultimately accepted after paying particular attention to my keywords and titles. If an asset is rejected a second time for this reason, I move on. This is not to say you should use keywords that have nothing to do with the subject, but it is important to think a bit outside the box. Put your most unique but accurate keywords first, and your less important ones, or ones you believe might be repetitive (Adobe's suggested keywords fall under this category) near the bottom of the list.

This is not to say I've discovered the secret to getting "similar" assets accepted, but it has appeared to help.

Adobe Community Expert | If you can't fix it, hide it; if you can't hide it, delete it.

T

Tan_Tin

Known Participant

Hi Danielle, thanka a lot for your valuable observations and feedback! To your opinion, how many tags are optimal now?

daniellei4510

Community Expert

I've experimented with as few as 5 to 7 to the max. Not sure if there is any difference.

Adobe Community Expert | If you can't fix it, hide it; if you can't hide it, delete it.

jacquelingphoto2017

Community Expert

Hi @2024creative ,

We cannot assess this refusal except we have what to compare it with. That mean we'd need to be able to see your public profile. I still believe that the majority of the similar has to do with what you submit, that the moderator deems them as too close.

Best wishes

Jacquelin

Abambo

Community Expert

@jacquelingphoto2017,

Adobe changed the stock text of this refusal:

They are now looking clearly at the whole database.

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer

daniellei4510

Community Expert

This is a common refusal anymore, and is often faulty. Some contributors have ceased or slowed down submissions for this reason. It may (or may not) have something to do with a bad algorithm that is emphasis on keyword and/or titles and if it sees them turn up too often, the assets are being tagged as similar. I'm at 149 rejections so far. It's extremely frustrating.

Adobe Community Expert | If you can't fix it, hide it; if you can't hide it, delete it.