Key takeaways
- The Adobe Admin Console shows storage allocated, consumed and top consumers on its Storage tab, for system administrators and Storage administrators.
- Report storage consumed in GB and add design files kept on laptops or file servers, which the Admin Console does not count.
- A removed user's folder moves to Storage > Inactive Users, and a transfer emails a designated person compressed archives of up to 5 GB; Lightroom, Behance and deleted assets are not included.
- Permanently deleted content cannot be restored, and you don't need to export anything to apply.
01
What is Adobe Creative Cloud data, and why do AI labs and data vendors buy it?
The short answer
Adobe Creative Cloud data is the design work a company saves in Adobe's cloud storage: layered Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign files, shared libraries of brand assets and cloud documents. AI labs (companies that build and train AI models) and data vendors (companies that anonymize business records and package them for those labs) buy a copy because a layered file shows how a finished image was built, not only what it looks like at the end.
What a Creative Cloud account holds
Creative Cloud is Adobe's suite of design apps, including Photoshop for images, Illustrator for drawings and logos, and InDesign for page layouts. A company that licenses it for a team stores work files, cloud documents and libraries in Adobe's storage. A library is a shared collection of colors, logos and graphics that designers reuse.
Many teams also keep working files on laptops or a file server, which Adobe's storage does not count.
Why a layered design file teaches an AI model something
An AI model learns by studying a very large number of examples and finding the patterns in them, and those examples are called training data. A flat image shows only the final result. A layered design file keeps each step as its own piece: separate layers for the photo, the text and the shadows, masks (shapes that hide part of a layer) and artboards (separate pages in one file).
Folders of campaign files add the history of how a brand's assets were revised over time. The full mechanism is in AI training data: why AI companies want your company's data.
How Creative Cloud fits into a dataset
Creative Cloud is usually one system among several in a company's dataset, next to email, chat and project records. Companies are paid $100K to $2M or more per dataset, according to micro1, the data vendor we typically refer companies to. The price covers the whole dataset, not each app on its own, and what your data is worth explains what moves it.
02
Where does Adobe Creative Cloud show how much data you have?
The short answer
The Adobe Admin Console shows cloud storage on its Storage tab, where the overview lists the storage allocated to your organization, the amount consumed and the top consumers. Report the storage consumed in gigabytes (GB), then add any design files that live on laptops or file servers instead.
How to read your storage total
The Admin Console is the web page where an organization's administrators manage its Adobe users and products. Adobe documents the Storage tab in its guide to managing Adobe storage.
- Sign in to the Adobe Admin Console with a system administrator or Storage administrator account.
- Open Storage. The overview shows the total storage allocated to the organization, the amount consumed and the balance still available, plus a snapshot of the top consumers of quota.
- To see usage by folder, go to Storage reports, click Create report and choose Individual folders or Shared folders. Adobe emails a link when the report is ready.
- Open Individual user folders > Inactive Users to find folders of removed users that still hold content.
Who can see the Storage tab
Adobe offers storage management in the Admin Console only to its teams and enterprise customers. The tab appears for system administrators and for people given the Storage administrator role, which an administrator adds under Users > Administrators.
Adobe is moving customers to a pooled storage model, and the Storage tab shows up once an organization has been moved. If you can't see it, ask Adobe's support team whether your organization has been migrated.
Why the Admin Console total can fall short
The Admin Console counts only Adobe cloud storage. Working PSD, AI and InDesign files that designers keep on laptops or file servers never appear in it, so measure those folders separately and add them to the total.
The overview splits storage into three parts: individual user folders, shared storage for Creative Cloud libraries, and "Others", which covers storage reports and the compressed folders made when users are removed.
03
What should you know about your Adobe Creative Cloud data before you apply?
The short answer
Have three facts ready: how many gigabytes your design files take up, how many years your company has used Creative Cloud and how many licenses you have assigned. They go into the data manifest, the written summary of which apps hold your records, how many years each covers and roughly how much. You don't need to run an export, and applying through micro1, the data vendor we typically refer companies to, shares no data.
The storage size
Use the storage consumed figure from the Storage overview, in GB. Then add the size of the folders on laptops and file servers where designers keep their working files, since many teams never use Adobe's cloud storage for them.
The years of history
The history starts on the date your organization first licensed Creative Cloud.
The number of seats
Seats are the Creative Cloud licenses assigned to people. Count them in the Admin Console.
What you don't need to do first
You don't need to export anything to apply, and you don't need to clean or scrub the files. The data vendor anonymizes the records before anyone else sees them, and nothing moves until a lawyer-reviewed license is signed. The application, the intro call and each later step are laid out in how to sell your company's data.
04
How do you export your full Adobe Creative Cloud history?
The short answer
For a user who has left, an administrator opens Storage > Inactive Users and transfers the folder to a designated person, who gets an email link to a compressed archive. For active users, each person downloads their Creative Cloud files onto a shared drive, and that drive is copied along with any file-server folders. Removing a user without choosing a transfer option risks losing the content.
Users who have left: transfer from Inactive Users
When you remove a user, that person's folder moves to the Inactive Users list, and Adobe describes the transfer in its guide to reclaiming assets from a user. Content is gathered into compressed archives (ZIP-style files that bundle many files into one).
- In the Admin Console, open Storage > Individual user folders > Inactive Users and open the folder's details.
- Choose More options > Edit Folder Access, type the email address of the person who should receive the content, click Add and then Save.
- Adobe builds the archives and emails the designated person a download link. The email is sent only after all archives are ready, so a large folder can take a while.
- The designated person downloads the archives and extracts the files, then uploads or copies them to the shared drive.
Users still at the company: download from their own folders
For people still at the company, ask each of them to download what they keep in Creative Cloud storage onto a shared drive. That shared drive, copied together with any file-server folders, becomes the export.
What to choose when you remove a user
Whenever you remove a user who has files in Adobe storage, the Admin Console asks what to do with them. The three options are listed here.
- Transfer content now
- The folder is sent by email to a person you name, who can be any user in your organization.
- Transfer content later
- The content stays in the Inactive Users tab until it is permanently deleted, and you can transfer it from there at any time.
- Permanently delete content
- The folder is deleted with no way to retrieve it.
If you remove users in bulk, Adobe automatically applies Transfer content later. Adobe also advises that an administrator who starts a transfer stays in the organization until it finishes, which is when the removed users appear under Inactive Users instead of Active Users.
What each archive includes
The left diagram shows what a transfer archive carries, and the right one shows the choices you make when removing a person.
Limits to plan around
Each compressed archive can hold up to 5 GB, so a large folder produces several archives. If a retention policy is set for your organization, content in Inactive Users is kept for the period you set before it is permanently deleted.
The transfer is meant for users leaving the organization, and Adobe does not recommend it for moving assets to a different organization. If archive creation fails, Adobe tells you to add the user again with a product profile that includes storage and restart the process.
What an Adobe export leaves out
The archive covers the user's synced assets: Creative Cloud files, libraries stored in the cloud, cloud documents and Adobe Express files created after August 16, 2023. It leaves out published documents, Acrobat Sign agreements, Adobe Express social posts, mobile creations, Lightroom files, Behance and Portfolio assets, and anything the user deleted. For Acrobat users, only assets under the Files tab are part of it.
Adobe says published InDesign links must be republished from a new account, and Lightroom files must be downloaded by the user before removal. For anything else, contact Adobe Customer Care.
Sources: Adobe Help Center, Manage Adobe storage and How to reclaim assets of a user leaving the organization. Steps checked against these pages in November 2026.
05
What stays private when Adobe Creative Cloud data is licensed?
The short answer
The company chooses which folders and libraries are exported, so personal projects and client work under restrictions can stay out of scope. The data vendor replaces names and other personal details with consistent stand-ins before an AI lab sees anything, and the company keeps ownership of its files.
You choose what is in scope
Because the files are gathered folder by folder and person by person, the company decides exactly what leaves Adobe storage. Leaving out a client's confidential campaign or a personal project is a matter of not copying it. The data vendor also deletes records too sensitive to clean safely instead of anonymizing them.
Names are replaced before a lab sees them
Anonymization means replacing every detail that identifies a person or a client, such as a name or an email address, with a stand-in that is the same every time it appears. The files still read in order and the revision trail still makes sense, but nobody can tell who the people are. The diagram shows one campaign folder before and after.
The method, including what is deleted outright and how you review samples, is in how company data is anonymized for AI training.
Ownership and payment
Licensing gives the buyer limited rights to a copy, while the company keeps ownership of the originals. The terms that matter, such as exclusivity, permitted use and deletion, are covered in data licensing. micro1 pays in full within 30 days of accepting the data, usually as a single payment.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Does the Adobe Admin Console show storage per user?
Yes. The overview highlights the heaviest users with their allocated quota and the percentage they have used, and it can show every user's consumption. A storage report on individual folders goes deeper.
What happens to a removed user's Creative Cloud files?
Adobe moves their folder to Inactive Users under Storage. From there you can hand the content to another person, leave it in place until it is permanently deleted, or delete it at once, so decide before you remove someone.
Are files saved on laptops or file servers counted in Admin Console storage?
No. The Admin Console covers Adobe cloud storage only. Files saved on laptops or file servers have to be measured on those drives.
Can we get a user's files back after they are permanently deleted?
No. Permanently deleted content cannot be restored, and files a user marked for deletion cannot be reclaimed under any circumstances. Choose a transfer option first.
Why can't I see a Storage tab in our Admin Console?
The tab is shown once your organization has moved to Adobe's pooled storage model, and only to system administrators and Storage administrators. Ask Adobe's support team whether your organization has been migrated.
Do we need to export Creative Cloud before we apply?
No. The application takes about two minutes and shares no data. You only need your approximate storage in GB, your years of history and your number of licenses for the intro call. The export is needed later, when the records are transferred after you sign the license.
What is Creative Cloud data worth to AI labs and data vendors?
Design files are priced as part of a whole dataset rather than on their own. Companies are paid $100K to $2M or more per dataset, according to micro1, and the price depends on the years of history and how completely the records show the work. What your data is worth explains the factors.
Bottom line
Know what is in Adobe Creative Cloud, then see what it is worth
You don't need to export anything to apply. Apply in two minutes, describe your records on the intro call, and micro1, the data vendor we typically refer companies to, prices the whole dataset and sends an offer 1–2 days later.
Not legal, tax or financial advice. Figures come from micro1's published pages and public reporting as of November 2026.