Adobe Photoshop to be free for everyone? Company tests new service for web users

Adobe is currently testing a free version of the Adobe Photoshop web platform.

New Delhi: In a bid to make Adobe Photoshop service available to everyone, software giant Adobe has begun testing a free online version of the popular photo editing software. The Verge reports that the company is currently evaluating the free version in Canada, where customers may access Photoshop online for free with an Adobe account. The service is referred to by the software giant as "freemium". However, the platform will turn off a few premium features for users. Such features will be available only to paying users. The company will make available sufficient free tools to offer basic functionality with the free account. 

"We want to make (Photoshop) more accessible and easier for more people to try it out and experience the product," Maria Yap, Adobe’s VP of digital imaging, was quoted as saying in the report.

In October last year, Adobe first made Photoshop available on the web. The American multinational computer software company started offering a simplified version of the photo editing software that could be used to handle simple modifications. 

Although the free-to-use app offered layers and basic editing capabilities, the service fell far short of offering the entire range of functions seen in the app, according to the report.

Instead, Adobe positioned the platform as a collaborative tool, allowing artists to share an image with others, have them participate, add some comments, and make a few minor adjustments.

Incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in San Jose, California, the company is currently headed by an Indian origin CEO Shantanu Narayen. Besides the photo editing platform, the company sells a slew of software, including the popular video editing platform – the Adobe Premier Pro.

-- With IANS inputs.