Submitted 16 hours ago by simple@piefed.social to technology@lemmy.world
Yes, Affinity really is free. You can use every tool in the Pixel, Vector, and Layout studios, plus all of the customization and export features, as much as you want, with no restrictions or payment needed. If you’re on a Canva premium plan, you’ll also be able to unlock Canva’s powerful AI tools within Affinity.
If you have to sign up to use it, it isn’t free.
AI training?
Probably, and also the first step towards adopting Adobe’s shitty business model.
If you’re on a Canva premium plan, you’ll also be able to unlock Canva’s powerful AI tools within Affinity.
So freemium, not free. Which is also fine, just saying.
…I want free hugs!
At first glance, this all sounds positive, especially for users without an affinity for AI.
However, time will tell whether the program will become less appealing if it turns out that the majority of Affinity users are not persuaded to sign up for a Canvas subscription for AI editing.
Either certain tools and functions will disappear behind a paywall, or compatibility will be restricted by no longer allowing free import and export to certain file formats.
I’ve been a paying affinity customer for years, and I’m not signing up for Canva.
I get it’s “free”, but I’m sketched out.
I’m not buying that it’s free unless it’s FOSS almost ever. Maybe it’s just a “create an account so we can collect data on you” deal, but that still isn’t free.
Yes, you have to create an account in Canva and turn off a bunch of tracking that is set on by default. There’s even a record setting that is off at the time of me discovering it, but that just made me nervous.
I recently downloaded it to try it out but i’m thinking of just torrenting adobe tbh.
It’s weird that I can’t just login using my existing Affinity ID, also Canva’s privacy policy states clear as day under section 2 that they’ll use your data to train AI models and that policy applies to Affinity
I see someone on masto saying its sending something out to them over ibternrt even when opted out
Just usage pings or actual data?
Some switches were set to on for me under www.canva.com/account/privacy-preferences
Oh god, how are they financing its development? Selling my personal data? Training AI on my data? Nagware? Not giving us a Linux version, ever?
Oh god, how are they financing its development?
Canva’s AI features are a subscription service. Existing Affinty features are now free.
Considering you can turn off telemetry and never need to connect it to the internet after activation, I’m assuming that - like how Adobe uses cheap education licenses to on-ramp people onto their platform - this is largely intended to drive professionals towards Canva and their various other products. They take a loss on this product to become the de-facto standard image/vector/publishing application.
The best possible scenario is that they’re just using it to entice people to pay for a premium subscription and will leave it that way. But the chances are that once they’ve pulled enough people in with the offer of free software, they’ll alter the terms of the deal.
Linux became so good at emulating windows apps, it now runs some of them better than windows itself (higher fps, lower power draw), so eventually their will be a port.
Given that these non native ports run in containers/bottles/whatever and internet access is often limited by default. However internet access is the key for their new business modell.
Basically Linux users will get the same or better product, without the drawbacks, which reminds me of pirated movies, where only the people actually buying it were made to sit through unskipable commercials.
Enshittification countdown begins now
Lovely. \s They got brought by Canva and went down the Adobe rabbit hole.
I haven’t followed this software and company before, what do you mean, what is the catch?
Adobe doesn’t offer any of its software for free accept acrobat reader, where you get nagged about payed features constantly, but it’s easy to ignore.
They used to be anti-Adobe and claimed they’d never stoop to their level. The new free version offers Canva Premium plan, which unlocks cloud content. It’s only going to get worse from here.
“Free”
I was really hoping for Linux support some day. Now, I am totally fine sticking with GIMP.
Krita is also another good alternative, imo.
Isn’t Krita more focused on digital painting than photo editing? I always end up going back to the GIMP because of that even though I use KDE.
I thought Affinity apps is one of those that works great with Proton/Wine.
It didn’t work me at all.
I use this at a center I volunteer at that works with the mentally disabled. Unsurprisingly, a lot of those people are old. Surprisingly, Canva is simple enough that I’ve been able to train the elderly, of all people, to use the program to make fliers or three-fold pamphlets for themselves. It’s a good program for what it does, and the center pays for a premium subscription. Honestly, I’m fine with this in terms of the program’s functionality, as long as Canva does’t fuck with its user interface. It is pretty simple and intuitive, and I’d argue that the UI is quite possibly one of its strongest assets, seconded only by the massive amounts of options/elements you can add. And it’s already apparent what AI is mostly used for within the program: making more graphic elements to slap onto your page, and more ready-made templates you can still go in and alter everything in at-will. And honestly, I’m fine with that.
If they are a registered non profit they shouldn’t have to pay for premium, and be eligible for a free subscription
Top ten answers on the board; we asked 100 users “How will Canva cover the costs of the software development if Affinity is free?”
It has Ai features by subscription to Canva Premium.
don’t believe companies when they tell you they don’t want all the money on the planet by any means possible
Enshitification is inevitable. Ugh.
I need to make sure I have my old Affinity installers. I’m sure I won’t be able to activate in a few years because they decide to take down the authentication server.
This is a good point. I’m going to download all the installers they have today and ferret them away just in case.
Still no Linux support. As someone who purchased the Affinity Suite, I’m not sure I like this shift in model. If they keep to just fencing off AI in premium and keep investing in the whole app, fine, but I don’t have my hopes up.
Oh no. Affinity was a good paid alternative to the adobe shite, now this is going to turn down a subscription route after they get people hooked, isnt it?
So this is basically v3, and they’re trying to gain critical mass adoption vs Adobe.
I’m happy with my v2 for now, but I have a hunch if I migrate to “3” I’ll be modifying my hosts file in the future.
This frustrates me so much.
I paid for v1 and v2 of the suite precisely because I’m willing to pay for a tool that works for me, predictably and reliably and with no compromise in goals. Now I’ll have to switch platforms yet again, because they’re going to monetize somehow, and if it’s not by taking my money, it’ll be by taking something else.
Is Inkscape a reasonable replacement for Illustrator yet? Is there an equivalent for InDesign?
I don’t want to get stuck in a Canvas walled garden, and I’m not going to pay rent to use software.
At least V2 still works and won’t just disappear. You can still use those apps you bought.
But it’s just sad to see this new path. I used to buy all the apps just because I liked the business model. I don’t really ever use Publisher, but I bought it anyway.
Now…there’s nothing that’ll get me to use this “free” shit.
I almost bought publisher last week, and postponed till Black Friday. Just wow!!!
You might have tried, but the company took all its products off the market for the last several weeks in anticipation of this announcement. You could use the trial, but you couldn’t purchase a new license.
If a business charges nothing for a product then it is not the product. You are.
Sometimes that’s harmless as in they’re wanting you to try their service. Your business for other projects is still the product in that transaction.
Other times it’s your personal data that is the product and they’re wanting to then turn around and monetize that data.
But in both scenarios, you, or something of yours, is the product.
I have it installed on my laptop. I’m not using their AI web app.
Holy shit this is huge… I still have trouble believing it, but holy shit…
Like, a company that actually listens?!??
It seems reasonable for now: you can use all the tools except the AI stuff for free, so it’s still (I assume) as full-featured as the last Serif version of Affinity was. But we don’t know what Canva plans to do with it. Will the tools be hollowed out while more and more features go behind a paywall? I don’t entirely trust them.
I stumbled upon them years ago when I discovered they had online colour tools. However, they’ve gradually leaned into AI and seem to be racking up a portfolio to rival Adobe.
Hook line and sinker…
I sent them feedback back when I heard the news about the Canva merger.
I knew this would happen but it still hurts.
I can only hope I can keep my current version as is without further updates.
cupcakezealot@piefed.blahaj.zone 4 hours ago
never support anything by canva
atmorous@lemmy.world 4 hours ago
Why not?
cupcakezealot@piefed.blahaj.zone 4 hours ago
they’re a horrible ai slop company