Unjustified Rejection Due to Similarity

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
March 21, 2025
5 replies
1096 views

Hi everyone,

I’m facing an issue with Adobe Stock rejecting my seamless pattern submissions due to "similarity." Each pattern I upload has completely unique design elements, its own distinct title, and a carefully selected set of keywords, however, all starts with the same three keywords: seamless, pattern, wallpaper. This is logical because they describe the core nature of the content.

Despite these differences in design and relevance, my files are being rejected. How can such images be considered too similar when the actual elements that make up the patterns are unique? Has anyone else experienced this, and how do you handle it?

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Contributors

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

Do you have any IDEA how many Free & Paid backgrounds are available from Stock and other services? Gazillions.

https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=wallpaper

https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=backgrounds

https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=abstracts

https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=patterns

I doubt very much that these are big sellers. And that's probably why Stock is rejecting them.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

R

rishad_voiceoverAuthor

Participant

Do you have any idea how do portfolios like THIS continue to fill up with hundreds of similar images with the identical titles and keywords, while other authors' work gets rejected even when it's not actually similar?

daniellei4510

Community Expert

Take solice in the fact that you are not alone.

https://community.adobe.com/t5/stock-contributors-discussions/continued-frustration-with-quot-too-many-similars-quot/td-p/15228958

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

Abambo

Community Expert

The "similar" rejection reason is probably one of the most difficult to understand. There are several remarks to this:

In most of the cases, you have a new contributor, and they are submitting the 50 pictures of the photoshoot of their dog. The refusal is probably warrented.
For some subjects, overrepresented in the database, Adobe stated, that the refusal may be because the picture is one of many and that it does not stand out enough to be included in the database. Here, the refusal may be warrented, but the text takes reference of similar pictures in the contributor's portfolio, which is then not true.
The moderator detects errors of any kind in the picture and chooses the wrong refusal reason. I suppose that will be the most of the "similar" rejections.
And finally, there are those cases, where nobody knows where the moderator took their wisdom to hit the refusal button.

If you checked your assets for errors and you are sure that they are OK, I would suggest to wait some time and to resubmit in small batches.

Keyword similarity will not lead to this refusal, IMHO, especially if there is some variation.

How can such images be considered too similar when the actual elements that make up the patterns are unique?

By @rishad_voiceover

Moderators are under extreme pressure to take decisions fast, in seconds of checking the asset. This may be an explanation.

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer

daniellei4510

Community Expert

Given that I've received 8 "similar" rejections in the span of three days (my first in over two years), at different times of the day and night, presumably by different moderators, I can't help but feel that Adobe has incorporated some new technology to report similar assets to the moderators and that the technology in question is over-correcting. Kind of like the same way that Firefly, used within Photoshop, warns that the user is violating the terms and conditions if even a hint of skin, or what looks like skin, is within or near the generative fill selection.

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

daniellei4510

Community Expert

I should add that I've been having better luck with black and white images and wallpaper assets than with my more unique submissions.

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

daniellei4510

Community Expert

I've received about a half dozen rejections due to "similars" over the past few days, for assets that I would argue were not similar (to my own or others), while images similar to those NOT being accepted ARE being accepted. Something has changed in the moderation process. I have never received this particular rejection reason in over two years.

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