Similar images already submitted!!!

[Sobhy_AI]

Hello there,

I went from a 95% acceptance rate to 20% or less. Almost all of my submissions are being rejected for the "similar image" reason.

The quality of the images is really good and doesn’t have any issues.

I am uploading at most 2 or 3 variations of each object ,PNGs only and a variety of different items across many categories. I also make sure not to upload similar content that I’ve previously submitted. I am 100% certain that my entire account doesn’t have more than three variations of any given item.

Sometimes, I upload the same object in different styles.

for example, a car in a 3D style and another version in watercolor or clay, so they are still distinct. (2 to 3 variations for each style)

Is this a general issue that will be resolved soon, or is it only affecting me?

[Abambo]

Lots of people have the same issue.

The only way it will get looked at is if people contact [Moderator deleted private information. Please do not post private information like e-mails and phone numbers]

Focus on it being an issue for lots of contributors, and don't accept a general answer.

By @lornet42765951

Posting e-mail addresses here is a violation of the forum rules. To contact contributor support, there is a viable and better alternative. Please contact stock contributor support for this.: https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/Need-Help-Contact-Us.html

[Imagevixen]

Yes you are right

[Marina P.]

Same problem. In the last sent rejected about 80%. Allegedly poor quality and allegedly similars. The images are of excellent quality and not even close to anything in my portfolio. I get the feeling that the images are being checked not by humans, but by an AI that is poorly tuned. I guess I'll have to stop uploading for now. I don't want to waste any more work.

[Imagevixen]

Don't blame you

[williamh98198509]

I am having the same issue. Looking at all my images that have been rejected, a good amount of them have the "Similar" tag on them now and this is a recent problem. It does not appear on any of the rejected images prior to March 2025. 

Do I submit "similar" images? Absolutely. Why? Because those are the ones that are selling. Just like some of the biggest sellers on here that focus on one subject. It's also what I learned after submitting a lot of random images that didn't sell at all. I found a niche and started sticking with it. Not sure what we are supposed to do now. 

[Abambo]

It's a common issue and a new policy from Adobe. They check your submissions against all assets in the database. That's it. At onme stage, they will find similar assets and then reject. Happens to all of us.

[Paper Ferry]

Yup, this has been happening for about 4+ weeks. After I complained a bunch of times, instead of Similar, they have now started rejecting my previously pending images for Poor Quality, even though the quality is fine. Out of 1000 images, 5 were accepted. It could be that they moved on to automating the review process, and it's glitching very badly.

*Conspiracy mode on*: It could also be the automation tool in trial-error testing phase, cuz they know that despite rejections people will keep uploading millions of files hoping for a different outcome. Meanwhile it's an awesome testing ground for them to optimize their AI-inspection tools. 

[Abambo]

Yup, this has been happening for about 4+ weeks. After I complained a bunch of times, instead of Similar, they have now started rejecting my previously pending images for Poor Quality, even though the quality is fine. Out of 1000 images, 5 were accepted. It could be that they moved on to automating the review process, and it's glitching very badly.

*Conspiracy mode on*: It could also be the automation tool in trial-error testing phase, cuz they know that despite rejections people will keep uploading millions of files hoping for a different outcome. Meanwhile it's an awesome testing ground for them to optimize their AI-inspection tools. 

By @Paper Ferry

Conspiracy mode off.
If Adobe stock refuses all submissions, how come that the database is still growing? For Adobe, Adobe stock is a business. They run a platform that needs to grow steadily, not exponentially like three years ago when they started accepting generative AI and the database got flooded by bad assets.

[Paper Ferry]

@Abambo The database keeps growing because a certain category of content currently seems to be immune to rejections.

[Jill_C]

As reported by many Contributors here and in the Discord channel, No category of assets is "immune to rejections". 

[AmandaYuyi]

Instead of category of assets, certain contributors are immune to
rejections. Based on observation, some contributors are still have similar
works newly approved recently. Some of them were once top contributors.

[Nate.Rosso]

Its really bad now honestly now.  I seldom was rejected in the past, I would upload a few every 2 weeks or so.  Now its ridiculous, if I upload 20, 15 of them will be rejected because of similar and I'm like there isn't anything similar about them!  Im guess adobe is running out of storage space with all their "AI images" that they needed to curb everyone.  

[Jill_C]

They're not running out of storage space. Storage is cheap. I think they're experimenting with a new automation tool which is not working well.

[Paper Ferry]

I agree. I believe that experimenting with any tools should be done in the staging environment, not testing it live at the expense of contributors' nerves, time, and energy..

So far this is currently THE WORST contributor experience out of all existing stock agencies. Sad.

[Abambo]

I agree. I believe that experimenting with any tools should be done in the staging environment, not testing it live at the expense of contributors' nerves, time, and energy..

So far this is currently THE WORST contributor experience out of all existing stock agencies. Sad.

By @Paper Ferry

The tool they are using is detecting similar prictures accross their database, and you can be sure that they will find at one stage a similar picture. 

If you think that your experience is bad, you can stop submitting. That's all you can do.

[kirkandmimi]

I suspect you're right about the AI. I submit travel and related images with a very rare AI image, and it's even affecting my submissions. I just read a comment on this thread that someone had only 5 out of 1000 images accepted -- that's the problem. It's clear too many people are just submitting any AI image they can think of, and though they probably look clear and are technically proficient due to the software they use, it's really not helpful to Adobe, or other photographers. 

[Paper Ferry]

@kirkandmimi I believe you're referring to my comment. I submit about 1000 AI images every 4 months because I create and edit them carefully and submit them as a big batch. Not constantly in bulk, any AI image I can think of, like you're implying. Everyone's case is different. And the problem here is not that they reject so many files; it's their right to do so. The actual BIG problem is that Adobe Stock support is ignoring our requests to announce new changes and acceptance criteria properly, and contributors have to play guessing game as to what is really going on.

[kirkandmimi]

I'm relieved that was over 4 months, and I wasn't trying to be specific to you, but the sheer amount of AI content submitted must be overwhelming, and I wonder what kind of activity adobe gets on all of it. Are these images selling? I hope so. It sounds like you're a professional and take pride in what you do, but I hope others aren't just going overboard submitting anything then can think of. No matter what, I agree something is going on - I'm just trying to figure out why, and this seems to be a fairly logical reason - the sheer amount of AI submissions. As a photographer, it's frustrating. Whether that's incorrect of me, or misplaced, I don't know...

[AmandaYuyi]

It seems the similar image restriction not apply to all contributors. I saw a contributor who only has AI abstrct background art work, still has many similar images newly approved this month. Since similar image policy started, he/she still newly add 17 new pages of work, a lot of art work not only similar to the work in entire AS DB, but also his/ her work. Perhaps the sales of the contributor are good, so he/ she is not in the similarity restriction.

[serendipitous_dream0401]

Yes, I'm wondering why some people are allowed to upload huge amounts of similar images. Don't they have this restriction?

[Abambo]

Nobody kows how this tool works. We all know that the tool is not working well. But Adobe seems to be happy with it. So for the moment, the experience will stay. Your only option is to stop submitting.

[Imalshan34427547w1ki]

My image was rejected as "Similar Image(s) Already Submitted", but I have never uploaded an image similar to this one, this is the first time I have uploaded an image like this. What can I do to fix this error? And I have seen other contributors asking about this issue as well. Will adobe stock fix it?

[moderator merged this topic]

[daniellei4510]

Will Adobe fix it? We don't even know for certain if Adobe acknowledges it as an issue that needs fixing, as they have not addressed the problem.

[Abambo]

Some of the answers published here point to the fact that Adobe feels that there tool is working well. So in there eyes, there is no need to fix.

[Nancy OShea]

Contributors don't make the policies.  We have no idea what Adobe Stock is doing.