Disable-AdobeTelemetry

A PowerShell script that comprehensively disables Adobe's background telemetry, analytics, in-app marketing (GrowthSDK), and persistent background processes that run even after closing Adobe applications.

The Problem

Adobe Creative Cloud applications (Premiere Pro, Photoshop, etc.) install and continuously run background processes that:

• GrowthSDK (%LocalAppData%Low\Adobe\GrowthSDK) — Adobe's in-app marketing and analytics framework that serves upsell prompts, A/B tests UI elements, and phones home with usage data. Deleting the directory does nothing — it regenerates every launch.
• CCXProcess.exe (C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Creative Cloud Experience) — The Creative Cloud Experience host. Persists after closing all Adobe apps and relaunches itself via scheduled tasks and other Adobe processes.
• AdobeIPCBroker.exe (C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Adobe Desktop Common\IPCBox) — Inter-process communication broker that facilitates telemetry and CC service communication. Also persists after closing Adobe apps.
• Multiple background services and scheduled tasks — AGSService, AdobeGCInvoker, Adobe Genuine Monitor, and others that maintain telemetry pipelines and "genuine" software checks.

Simply killing these processes or deleting their files is temporary — Adobe apps relaunch them on startup, and CC services recreate deleted directories.

What This Script Does

Action	Details
Kill Processes	Terminates CCXProcess, CCLibrary, AdobeIPCBroker, Adobe Desktop Service, AGSService, AdobeNotificationClient, AdobeUpdateService, and Adobe-spawned Node.js instances
Neutralize GrowthSDK	Removes the GrowthSDK directory across all user profiles and plants a read-only, system-hidden, ACL-denied blocker file in its place so it cannot be recreated
Disable CCXProcess	Renames the executable to .disabled, applies IFEO debugger redirect as a failsafe, and strips execute permissions via ACL deny
Firewall AdobeIPCBroker	Blocks outbound connections only — IPCBroker is required for Premiere/Photoshop to launch, so it is left functional but firewalled. The script also auto-restores IPCBroker if a previous run disabled it.
Disable Scheduled Tasks	Disables all Adobe-related scheduled tasks (AdobeGCInvoker, Genuine Monitor, updaters, etc.)
Disable Services	Stops and sets to Disabled: AGSService, AGMService, AdobeARMservice, AdobeUpdateService, CCXProcess
Registry Policies	Sets DisableUsageData, DisableGrowth, DisableAutoupdates, AgsDisabled, and disables the usage framework under enterprise policy keys
Firewall Rules	Resolves and blocks ~20 Adobe telemetry domains by IP, plus blocks known telemetry executables by program path
Hosts File	Sinkhole routes all Adobe telemetry/analytics domains to 0.0.0.0
Startup Entries	Disables Adobe auto-run registry entries across HKLM and HKCU

Blocked Domains

The script blocks outbound connections to the following Adobe telemetry and analytics endpoints:

cc-api-data.adobe.io        notify.adobe.io             prod.adobegc.com
ada.adobe.io                assets.adobedtm.com         geo2.adobe.com
pv2.adobe.com               lcs-cops.adobe.io           lcs-robs.adobe.io
sstats.adobe.com             stats.adobe.com             ic.adobe.io
cc-cdn.adobe.com             p13n.adobe.io               platform.adobe.io
use.typekit.net              adobeid-na1.services.adobe.com
r.openx.net                 dpm.demdex.net              bam.nr-data.net
fls.doubleclick.net

The "Triple-Layer" Approach

For persistent executables like CCXProcess that Adobe apps relaunch on startup, the script uses three layers of defense:

1. Rename — The executable is renamed to .disabled so nothing can find it at the expected path.
2. IFEO Redirect — An Image File Execution Options debugger key is set to nul. Even if Adobe restores the original executable (e.g., during an update), Windows intercepts the launch and silently kills it.
3. ACL Deny — If the rename fails due to a file lock, execute permissions are stripped via a deny ACL for Everyone.

For GrowthSDK, a similar approach is used: the directory is replaced with a read-only, system-hidden file with a deny ACL on write/delete, preventing Adobe from recreating the directory structure.

Note: AdobeIPCBroker.exe is not given this treatment. It is required for Premiere Pro and Photoshop to start. Instead, it is blocked via outbound firewall rule only — it can still handle local inter-process communication but cannot phone home. If a previous run of the script disabled IPCBroker, the current version will automatically restore it.

Usage

Requirements

• Windows 10/11
• PowerShell 5.1+
• Administrator privileges (the script will exit if not elevated)

Run

# Right-click PowerShell → Run as Administrator
.\Disable-AdobeTelemetry.ps1

The script presents a confirmation prompt before making any changes and offers an optional reboot at completion.

Best Results

For the cleanest run, close all Adobe applications before executing. If any rename operations report "file locked," reboot and re-run the script before opening any Adobe apps — the IFEO redirects will already be active as a failsafe in the meantime.

What Still Works

Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, and other Creative Cloud applications continue to function normally. What you lose:

• In-app upsell/marketing popups
• CC Libraries panel sync
• Adobe usage analytics and telemetry
• Adobe Genuine Software checks
• Automatic background updates (you can still manually update via Creative Cloud)

After Adobe Updates

CC application updates may restore disabled executables. The IFEO debugger redirects survive updates and will catch any restored processes automatically. Re-run the script after major updates if you want to re-rename the executables for cleanliness.

Reversal

To undo all changes:

1. Rename CCXProcess.exe.disabled back to CCXProcess.exe in the Adobe Creative Cloud Experience directory
2. Remove the IFEO registry key at HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\CCXProcess.exe
3. Delete the GrowthSDK blocker file and remove the deny ACLs
4. Re-enable disabled services: Set-Service -Name AGSService -StartupType Automatic (repeat for each service)
5. Remove firewall rules named Block Adobe Telemetry*
6. Remove the hosts file block between the # --- Adobe Telemetry Block --- markers
7. Re-enable scheduled tasks and restore startup registry entries

License

MIT