Shutterstock’s Subscription Tactics Just Cost the Company $35 Million

A Shutterstock subscription that looked simple on the surface may now end up costing the company $35 million. According to a report by Reuters, the stock photo giant has agreed to settle US Federal Trade Commission allegations that it misled customers about subscription renewals and made cancellations unnecessarily difficult.

The FTC announced that Shutterstock will pay $35 million as part of a settlement tied to its billing and cancellation practices. The agency said the payout is intended to provide full relief to affected consumers.

At the center of the case were Shutterstock’s subscription plans for stock photos, graphics, and video assets. Regulators alleged that the company failed to clearly disclose important terms tied to annual subscriptions and content packs, including automatic renewals and cancellation penalties.

FTC Says Customers Faced Confusing Renewals

According to the FTC complaint, Shutterstock’s “annual, paid monthly” plan automatically renewed and could trigger substantial cancellation fees if users tried to leave early. Regulators also accused the company of making the cancellation process frustrating and time-consuming.

The FTC said some subscribers encountered long phone wait times, multiple email confirmation steps, and as many as eight pages of prompts before they could fully cancel an account.

The agency also took issue with Shutterstock’s “packs” system, which was marketed for one-time projects. Regulators alleged that these packs automatically renewed after a year and could refill automatically once used up, without sufficiently clear disclosure.

FTC consumer protection chief Christopher Mufarrige said companies that hide important billing terms or create difficult cancellation systems prevent consumers from making informed decisions.

Shutterstock did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

Subscription Models Under Increasing Scrutiny

The case reflects growing pressure on digital subscription businesses across creative industries. Many photographers, designers, and videographers rely on stock services like Shutterstock for client work, editorial projects, and commercial licensing. At the same time, subscription fatigue has become a wider issue across software and media platforms.

Regulators in the United States and Europe have increasingly focused on “dark patterns,” which refer to interface designs that encourage purchases while making cancellation harder than signup.

For creative professionals, that matters because services like stock libraries, editing software, and cloud storage have largely shifted away from one-time purchases. Monthly and annual billing models now dominate much of the photography and video ecosystem.

Getty Images Merger Still Under Review

The settlement arrives during a major transition period for Shutterstock. Reuters noted that the company agreed in January 2025 to be acquired by rival Getty Images in a deal that valued the combined company at roughly $3.7 billion.

That merger is still being reviewed by US and European regulators.

If approved, the deal would combine two of the largest names in stock photography and visual licensing. Critics of the merger have raised concerns about market concentration and pricing power in the creative licensing industry.

Why This Matters For Creators

For photographers and filmmakers, stock platforms are often both tools and marketplaces. Many contributors upload content to Shutterstock or Getty Images for licensing income, while clients use subscriptions to access commercial visuals quickly.

Cases like this highlight how important transparency has become in subscription-based creative services. Billing structures, auto-renewals, and cancellation systems may seem secondary to the images themselves, but they shape how professionals and hobbyists interact with these platforms every day.

As more photography services move toward subscription ecosystems, users may start paying closer attention not just to what a platform offers, but also to how easy it is to leave.

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