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Photoshop vs Krita: The Privacy & Security Face-Off

Discover how Adobe Photoshop (US) and Krita (NL) handle your creative data. Learn which tool offers superior privacy for peace of mind.

Last updated: February 6, 2026•Reviewed by Built in EU Team

Should You Switch to Krita?

What You Gain

Gain privacy, free software, and open-source community support.

Privacy advantage
Trade-offs

Loss of advanced editing tools and integration with Adobe products.

Adobe Photoshop has more features
Bottom Line

Switch if you prioritize privacy and cost over advanced features.

At a Glance

Data Location
🇺🇸US

US data laws

🇳🇱NL

GDPR protected

Pricing

Adobe Photoshop

Contact

Krita

free

Migration
Medium difficulty~2-4 hours

Privacy & Compliance Comparison

Critical data sovereignty factors at a glance

CriteriaAdobe PhotoshopKrita
Server Location
US (Adobe data centers), EU (optional)EU (primarily Netherlands)
GDPR Compliance
Partial (SCCs)Full
Open Source
E2E Encryption
Enterprise onlyOptional
Data Portability
PartialFull export

CLOUD Act Notice

Adobe Photoshop is a US company and must comply with CLOUD Act data requests, even for data stored in EU data centers. Krita is not subject to US jurisdiction.

Switching from
Adobe Photoshop logo

Adobe Photoshop

🇺🇸

Adobe Inc.

VS
Switching to
Krita logo

Krita

🇳🇱

Krita

US Data Storage

Data subject to US CLOUD Act and may be accessed by US authorities

EU Data Protection

Data protected under GDPR with EU-only data residency

Certifications & Compliance

No certifications listed

GDPR Compliant
EU-Based
Open Source

Reasons to Switch

  • ✓Krita is open source, allowing for community-driven feature updates.
  • ✓Krita offers extensive brush customization with over 30 brush engines.
  • ✓Animation support in Krita includes frame-by-frame and onion skinning.
  • ✓Krita's HDR support enables better color depth for digital painting.

Things to Consider

  • !Photoshop's advanced editing tools are more comprehensive than Krita's.
  • !Krita's learning curve may be steep for users accustomed to Photoshop.
  • !Krita lacks some 3D design capabilities found in Photoshop.
Migration difficulty:
Medium
~2-4 hours

Migration Overview

Full guide
Difficulty
Medium
Time Estimate
~2-4 hours

Depends on data size and complexity

Quick Steps

1

Create Krita account and configure settings

2

Export and prepare data from Adobe Photoshop

3

Import data, test integrations, and migrate users

Other alternatives to Adobe Photoshop

Ready to make the switch?

Start using Krita today and take control of your data privacy.