The use of artificial intelligence is getting more mainstream day by day, with many camera manufacturers and software makers incorporating the technology to improve image making. An example is Sony’s a1 II, where the company utilized an AI chip to help improve autofocus performance. But such a use is an exception. We all have often heard of corporations using AI scraping to train their artificial intelligence tools to become better. Adobe has been accused of that, as well as VSCO. However, in the latter’s case, they have clarified their intentions to keep things transparent. But now, Canva’s latest terms and conditions reveal that the company has been using your data to train its AI.
This was recently discovered by our editor, Chris Gampat, who noticed a clause on Canva’s website. Per the Terms of Use, under Content and Design, Canva can train its AI if you “opt-in” to be a part of this. The clause states:
You agree that if you opt-in to do so via the privacy settings within your account settings(opens in a new tab or window), Canva, its affiliates, and its third party service providers that enable functionality within the Service may use your User Content to develop, improve, and provide the AI products and services, including through the use of machine learning technologies. We will not use User Content of Canva for Education for AI training.
If you agree, the company will share design metadata, such as popular color and font combinations, with the community or features and buttons you use. However, ” this does not include your private design content, and you can choose to opt-out at any time.” But that is not all; if you do agree, the data you have can be occasionally shared with the company’s “trusted third-party partners.”
However, if you want to opt-out, there is a way. You have to visit your privacy settings in your account settings. Then, you will notice two choices: allow your general usage to improve AI and allow your content usage to train AI. When I made a new account, the former feature was already turned on. I had to manually turn it off. Once you see your privacy settings, it is a matter of turning them off.
Honestly, we did not really expect Canva to have such features without truly informing its users. Just like any other software company, they have introduced an AI editing app, but how it can use your data to train itself has been hidden in fine print. In addition, if you use third-party apps or features on Canva, you will have to go ahead and see what the loopholes are on your own.
The more we think about it, the more we realize that while AI can be helpful in removing bulk work for photographers, there has to be a more ethical way to train it. Perhaps outright telling users that they want help like this can be useful. We know that many would disagree but stating things up front can be far more better. After all, tactics like these can only be used by big corporations, which does more harm than good.