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Lightroom app reviews: what users complain about
We ran AppGripe on 300 of the most recent public App Store reviews of Lightroom: AI Photo Editor (Photography, by Adobe Inc.) from 3 storefronts, dated 2025-12-05 to 2026-10-22. Average rating in this sample: 3.86★. Its all-time US App Store rating is 4.8★ from 338K ratings. 87 reviews contained a complaint; the biggest theme was pricing / subscription (53%).
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Complaint categories
| Category | Reviews | Share of complaints | Avg severity (0–3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing / subscription | 46 | 53% | 2.5 |
| Feature requests | 39 | 45% | 2.4 |
| Bugs | 38 | 44% | 2.5 |
| UX / design | 26 | 30% | 2.2 |
| Performance | 12 | 14% | 2.7 |
| Crashes / freezes | 9 | 10% | 2.8 |
| Ads | 2 | 2% | 1.6 |
A review can count in several categories, so shares add up to more than 100%. Severity is the AI's estimate of how bad the problem is for the user.
Top issues, ranked by reviews × severity
- Soften the redesign backlash: 32 complaining reviews, avg severity 2.3/3. What to do: Explain the change in-app, restore the most-missed option, or offer a setting for the old behaviour.
“Previous to the new update I was a Lightroom lover. Now…..not so much. Editing is still a smooth process but downloading or saving photos is taking astronomically long. The only thing changed has been the update to the app about 2 weeks ago. Will be looking…” (1★, v11.1, CA) - Justify or adjust the price: 27 complaining reviews, avg severity 2.3/3. What to do: Test a cheaper tier, annual discount or one-time purchase; show what paid users get.
“I’ve used this platform for many years. I even pay the premium, but after the update on August 16th, the recommended preset library was stripped from the app. This was one of the main reasons I continued using the app in the first place. Price went up and beat…” (1★, v11.5.10, US) - Improve content quality: 17 complaining reviews, avg severity 2.5/3. What to do: Review the content areas users name; add a "report a problem" button on content.
“So disappointed that Lightroom is considered an AI photo editor now when I’ve been manually editing my real photographs for 20 years with this program. Now even using a linear gradient on the foreground or sky of a 100% real photograph will get your picture fl…” (1★, v11.6.1, US) - Ship the most requested feature: 17 complaining reviews, avg severity 2.3/3. What to do: Read the quotes below for the exact request; consider a public roadmap.
“This new weekly fee is not something I’m fond of. I’d rather pay $7.99 a month compared to $3.99 a week. It would be best for everyone if you could at least add it back as a payment option, please and thank you.” (3★, v11.6.10, US) - Ease paywall pressure: 14 complaining reviews, avg severity 2.4/3. What to do: Keep core features usable for free users or explain clearly what is paid; show the paywall less often.
“Downloaded to try out a few features and see if it was for me, but they just keep trying to get you on a subscription before doing so. I made a free edits, and tried to save the picture to review outside of the app later, but no, wouldn’t let me save, and ju…” (1★, v11.1, GB) - Fix features broken by the latest update: 12 complaining reviews, avg severity 2.7/3. What to do: Add regression tests for the features users name in these reviews before the next release.
“With the latest update you can’t develop raw anymore. Really hope that with all the latest greed adobe will be obsolete soon enough. Bye Update after response: no thank you, I’m not wasting another minute on Adobe.” (1★, v11.1, GB)
Rating by app version (newest first)
| Version | Reviews | Avg stars | Share with a complaint |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11.6.10 | 14 | 2.6 | 50% |
| 11.6.1 | 31 | 3.4 | 32% |
| 11.5.30 | 20 | 3.7 | 35% |
| 11.5.21 | 14 | 3.6 | 36% |
| 11.5.20 | 12 | 2.7 | 75% |
Versions with fewer than 3 reviews in the sample are left out.
FAQ
What do users complain about most in Lightroom?
In 300 recent App Store reviews (2025-12-05 to 2026-10-22), the most common complaint theme was pricing / subscription (53% of complaining reviews), and the top specific issue was “soften the redesign backlash” (32 reviews).
How many Lightroom reviews are negative?
87 of 300 recent reviews (29%) contained a complaint. Average rating in this sample: 3.86★. Its all-time US App Store rating is 4.8★ from 338K ratings.
Can I get the same report for my own app?
Yes. Paste your App Store or Google Play link at revunda.xyz/apps/ and you get the full PDF (up to 300 recent reviews, 7 categories, 18 specific issues, version trend, 10 ranked fixes) within 24–48 hours. A free mini check shows the top 3 themes in seconds.
How to read this
Apple's public feed only shows recent reviews, so this is a snapshot of the last weeks or months, not the app's full history. Popular apps attract complaints in proportion to their size; the useful part is which issues repeat. Generated 22 October 2026. We have no relationship with Adobe Inc..
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