Adobe has announced Adobe Stock Photos, the service integrated into Adobe Bridge, will be discontinued as of April 1, 2008. An FAQ is posted to address common questions (especially if you’re an ASP user), and there are uninstallers for Mac and Windows that let you remove ASP from Bridge if you’d like.

The FAQ is very light on the rationale for the decision, but in an interview with StockAsylum’s Ron Rovtar (subscription required for part of it), Adobe director James Alexander says, “We thought we went to market with a set of features and functionality that were going to improve workflow. It was just not as compelling as we thought it was going to be.”

I don’t have a lot of additional context to offer, other than to say that we’re working hard to make Photoshop, Bridge, and the other Creative Suite apps much more easily extensible so that they can support whatever services customers find useful–whether from Adobe or from third parties.

The product page read:

Thank you for using Adobe Stock Photos

As of April 1, 2008, the Adobe® Stock Photos royalty-free image service will be discontinued. Adobe made this decision in order to focus efforts in other areas. We appreciate your support of Adobe and the Adobe Stock Photos service.

Complete your images searches by March 4, 2008.
Make your final purchases by March 31, 2008.
If necessary, download past purchases again and print your purchase history by March 31, 2008.
When you’re ready, remove Adobe Stock Photos from your Adobe Creative Suite® edition or standalone applications. Download the uninstaller: Macintosh | Windows®
Purchase Adobe Stock Photos comp images directly from the image provider if needed. Use the Adobe Stock Photos image ID converter to determine which provider offers your comp image.

Via Adobe.com