How to Disable the Adobe Updater (Creative Cloud, Acrobat and Reader)

Applies to: Windows 11 and Windows 10 with Adobe Creative Cloud apps, Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader installed.

Which Adobe updater do you have?

“Adobe updater” means different things depending on which Adobe software you use, and each one is turned off in a different place:

You have	What updates it	Where to turn it off
Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, Lightroom and other subscription apps	The Creative Cloud desktop app	Creative Cloud settings
Adobe Acrobat (paid) or Acrobat Reader (free)	The Adobe Acrobat Update Service and a scheduled task	Services and Task Scheduler
Pop-ups at sign-in, or Adobe processes using CPU in the background	Creative Cloud start-up items	Task Manager start-up apps

If you see a pop-up asking you to install an “Adobe update” or “Flash Player” from a website, don’t click it. Adobe doesn’t push updates through browser pop-ups, and Flash Player was retired years ago. That’s a common way malware is spread, so scan your PC for malware if you’ve already clicked one.

Turn off Creative Cloud app auto-updates

The Creative Cloud desktop app updates your Adobe apps when a new version is out and you aren’t using them. To stop that:

1. Open the Creative Cloud desktop app (from the Start menu or the system tray).
2. Select the Apps tab.
3. In the Installed apps panel, select More actions (the three dots), then Manage auto-updates.
4. Turn the main Auto-update switch off to stop all apps, or leave it on and switch off only the apps you want to keep on their current version.
5. Select Done.

Your apps now stay on their current version until you update them yourself from the Updates section of the same app. If the auto-update option is greyed out, your organisation manages it, so ask your IT team.

Creative Cloud itself (the desktop app) still updates in the background. Adobe doesn’t offer a setting to stop that, and it needs to stay current to keep signing you in.

Stop Creative Cloud starting with Windows

If what bothers you is Creative Cloud opening at sign-in and checking for updates, stop it from starting automatically:

1. In the Creative Cloud app, select your profile picture > Preferences > General and turn off Launch Creative Cloud at login. Select Done.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager and select Startup apps.
3. Disable Adobe entries you don’t need at start-up, such as Adobe Creative Cloud, CCXProcess and Adobe Updater Startup Utility (on older installs). Right-click each one and choose Disable.

Your Adobe apps still open and work normally. Creative Cloud starts when you open one of them and checks for updates then.

Disable the Acrobat and Reader updater

Current versions of Acrobat and Acrobat Reader don’t have an update option in their preferences. Updates come from a Windows service and a scheduled task, so you turn those off instead. You need an administrator account.

1. Disable the update service

1. Press Win + R, type services.msc and press Enter.
2. Find Adobe Acrobat Update Service (its service name is AdobeARMservice) and double-click it.
3. Select Stop, set Startup type to Disabled and select OK.

2. Disable the scheduled task

1. Press Win, type Task Scheduler and open it.
2. Select Task Scheduler Library on the left.
3. Find Adobe Acrobat Update Task, right-click it and choose Disable.

Prefer the command line? In an administrator Command Prompt, this does both:

sc stop AdobeARMservice
sc config AdobeARMservice start= disabled
schtasks /Change /TN "Adobe Acrobat Update Task" /Disable

To check for updates yourself later, open Acrobat or Reader and select Menu (or Help) > Check for updates. A big Acrobat update may turn the service and task back on, so check again after one.

Turn off Acrobat updates completely (registry)

Adobe’s own setting for businesses blocks updates and removes the Check for updates menu item. It’s set in the registry, so back up the registry first (in Registry Editor, File > Export). In an administrator Command Prompt, run the line that matches your product:

rem Acrobat Reader
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\DC\FeatureLockDown" /v bUpdater /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

rem Acrobat (Standard or Pro)
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown" /v bUpdater /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

To undo it, delete the bUpdater value (replace add with delete and leave out /t REG_DWORD /d 0). Organisations can apply the same setting with the Acrobat Customization Wizard or Group Policy.

Should you turn updates off?

Adobe updates often fix security holes, especially in Acrobat and Reader, which open files from anywhere. PDF files are a common way to deliver malware, so an out-of-date PDF reader is a real risk.

• Turning off automatic updates is fine if you still update by hand, for example once a month or when Adobe announces a security fix.
• Keep updates on if you open PDFs from email or the web and won’t remember to update.
• If an update broke something, pause updates only for the app that broke and install the next fixed version when it’s out.

If an Adobe app crashes after an update with an error such as 0xc0000005, repairing or reinstalling the app usually fixes it faster than staying on an old version. If installers keep failing, check Windows system files with SFC and DISM.

Related guides

• How to scan your PC for malware
• Error 0xc0000005: application unable to start
• SFC: “Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation”

Official sources: for more detail, see Adobe’s own documentation:

• Adobe Help: Update Creative Cloud apps automatically
• Adobe: Acrobat Customization Wizard, services and online features (bUpdater)

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to disable the Adobe Acrobat Update Service?

Yes, Acrobat and Reader keep working without it. The only cost is that security fixes won’t install themselves, so check for updates by hand regularly.

Can I uninstall the Adobe updater?

Not on its own. The Acrobat updater is part of Acrobat and Reader, and Creative Cloud is required to run Creative Cloud apps. Disable it as shown above instead.

Why did Adobe updates turn themselves back on?

Major Acrobat updates and reinstalls can reset the service and scheduled task. The bUpdater registry setting survives updates, so use it if you need updates to stay off.

What is AdobeARM.exe?

It’s the Acrobat and Reader update program (Adobe Reader and Acrobat Manager), started by the update service and task. A genuine copy lives in C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\ARM or the same folder under Program Files. A copy anywhere else is worth a malware scan.