Adobe gives students free home Creative Cloud access – here's how to get it

Adobe Creative Cloud
(Image credit: Adobe)

Update 19/3/20: It seems students aren't the only ones getting some Adobe love in these testing times – if you're an existing subscriber of any kind, you can get two months of Creative Cloud access for free thanks to a hidden cancellation offer. Just follow the link below to find out how to unlock it – or carry on reading below to find out about the free home access for students. 

Adobe is helping students who are stuck at home because of the Covid-19 outbreak with free, temporary remote access to Creative Cloud apps like Photoshop and InDesign.

In order to get access to the apps your school or college needs to be an education customer and the temporary licenses will only be available until May 2020. But it's a potential lifeline for those who need to continue their Adobe-reliant studies or coursework outside of their school or campus.

So how do you go about getting remote Creative Cloud access? Naturally, it's a fairly rigorous process, with only school IT admins able to request home access via an application form here

But if you're a student and your school or college isn't aware of the offer, then it could be worth sending the link to your IT department to speed up the process. Adobe says it will evaluate each request, but if your facility is a current Adobe Creative Cloud customer then it should technically qualify for the temporary license.

Adobe Connect

(Image credit: Adobe)

Feeling remote

So far, not all schools and campuses have closed their doors due to the Covid-19 outbreak, with most doing so on a case-by-case basis. But it is becoming increasingly common, and with many looking for ways to transition to online learning, Adobe's offer is certainly very welcome.

It also follows Adobe's announcement last week that its Connect web conferencing software would be free to everyone until July 1 2020. Adobe says that many US government agencies have used Connect as an always-open area for their employees to share real-time info, while it's also popular among schools and universities as a platform for remote teaching. 

As the knock-on effects of the Covid-19 virus spread, an increasing number of students and employees will be working from home – and fortunately, we live in an era when remote working is relatively straightforward for many people, thanks to video conferencing software and gestures like Adobe's temporary free remote Creative Cloud licenses. 

Mark Wilson
Senior news editor

Mark is TechRadar's Senior news editor. Having worked in tech journalism for a ludicrous 17 years, Mark is now attempting to break the world record for the number of camera bags hoarded by one person. He was previously Cameras Editor at both TechRadar and Trusted Reviews, Acting editor on Stuff.tv, as well as Features editor and Reviews editor on Stuff magazine. As a freelancer, he's contributed to titles including The Sunday Times, FourFourTwo and Arena. And in a former life, he also won The Daily Telegraph's Young Sportswriter of the Year. But that was before he discovered the strange joys of getting up at 4am for a photo shoot in London's Square Mile.