The Price of Free: CapCut's New Terms of Service Raise Big Questions for Creators

8 July 2025

Paul Francis

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Most people never read the terms of service. They're the digital equivalent of the small print on a credit card offer. Dry. Dense. Usually harmless. But every now and then, one of those boxes you tick without thinking hides something that matters.

CapCut, the hugely popular video editing app owned by ByteDance, quietly updated its terms of service in June. The new terms haven’t radically changed in structure, but their language has sparked widespread concern. Creators, influencers, journalists and casual users are now realising the cost of convenience might be their content, their voice, and even their face.

So what changed? And why does it matter?

CapCut Now Has the Right to Use Your Content, Forever

At the heart of the controversy is CapCut’s licence agreement. When you upload a video to their platform, even as a private draft, you are granting ByteDance and its affiliates a worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable and perpetual right to use, edit, reproduce, distribute and monetise your content. This includes your username, your voice, and your likeness.

In short, they can do what they like with your video. Forever. And you cannot revoke that permission.

Critically, this applies not just to content published publicly but also to drafts or private videos stored in CapCut’s cloud. Even if you delete the file or your account, the licence remains in place. You still technically own your content, but they own the rights to do whatever they want with it.

This has understandably caused alarm among creators. A vlog you filmed for friends, a marketing draft, or a clip of your child dancing in the living room could, in theory, be used in an advert, a training dataset, or promotional material with no payment or warning.

The Growing Frustration with ‘Freemium’

Beyond the terms themselves, CapCut has also come under fire for its monetisation strategy. Features that were once free, like slow motion effects, watermark-free exports and audio extraction, are now locked behind a Pro subscription.

Reddit forums are filled with posts from frustrated users. One wrote, "You literally cannot do anything on it anymore, everything requires a subscription #boycott_capcut." Others have vented about automatic updates that break their workflows or remove tools they relied on.

CapCut was once the darling of quick, quality video editing. Now, many feel it has shifted from a useful free tool to a pay-to-play model without warning. That change has made some users feel as though they were tricked into building their content libraries on a platform that no longer respects their creative control.

Who Is Most Affected?

The impact is not the same for everyone. Here are three groups most at risk:

1. Content Creators and InfluencersAnyone uploading original content to CapCut risks losing control over how that content is used. That includes voiceovers, music, video clips and personal footage. A brand image carefully curated over years could be diluted or repurposed without input or approval.

2. Journalists and Documentary FilmmakersThose working with sensitive material or vulnerable subjects may be unknowingly placing source material into the hands of a third party. CapCut’s terms allow them to retain copies of content and distribute them freely. For journalists working under embargo or dealing with whistle-blowers, this is a serious threat to trust and ethics.

3. Small Businesses and CharitiesMany organisations use CapCut to produce promotional videos, explainers, and behind-the-scenes content. If those assets are uploaded to CapCut’s servers, they may be reused, reshaped or monetised elsewhere. This undermines brand control and could expose sensitive internal material.

Safer Alternatives for Creators

Dark computer screen with Adobe Premiere Pro icon. Visible text: Home, Sync Settings, Recent. Sparse light creates a focused, calm mood.

If you are reconsidering your use of CapCut, here are some alternatives that offer more transparency or control:

DaVinci Resolve: A professional-grade editor with a free version offering extensive features and no cloud tie-ins.
Adobe Premiere Pro: Paid, but widely trusted and industry standard.
Final Cut Pro: Ideal for Mac users who want full control over local files.
VN Video Editor: A popular mobile alternative with fewer strings attached.
Openshot: A free, open-source tool for those who prefer editing offline.
Shotcut: Another open-source video editor with advanced features and no automatic cloud storage.

A Wider Trend of Terms That Take More Than They Give

CapCut is not alone. Increasingly, apps and platforms are granting themselves sweeping rights over user-generated content. TikTok, also owned by ByteDance, includes similar language in its terms. Meta’s platforms have long included provisions that allow for the reuse and promotion of posted material. Even Zoom caused controversy in 2023 after suggesting it could use video calls to train AI.

These trends suggest a growing normalisation of terms that put user control second to corporate interest. The technology is free, but your content becomes the price.

The Lesson? Read Before You Click

We live in an age where convenience and creativity are closely tied to platforms we do not control. CapCut’s updated terms of service are not necessarily unusual—but they should be a wake-up call. If you value your content, your privacy, or your brand, it may be time to check those terms before clicking ‘Accept’.

Because in the world of digital creation, what’s yours might not stay yours for long.

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Vampires: Bloodthirsty Legends Through the Ages

Paul Francis
Oct 31, 2024
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"I am Dracula, and I bid you welcome, Mr. Harker, to my house." — Count Dracula - Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker

Sharp fangs, flowing capes, and a thirst for blood—vampires have sunk their teeth into our imaginations for centuries. Whether they’re creeping through the shadows or throwing lavish undead parties, these nocturnal creatures embody both our darkest fears and our forbidden desires. But where did these mysterious monsters come from, and why are they always so well-dressed?

Fanged Fiends on the Silver Screen

Before there was Twilight and The Vampire Diaries, there was The Monster Squad (1987), where Dracula himself led the charge of iconic monsters looking for a bit of havoc (and probably a snack). Bela Lugosi’s classic portrayal of the Count in Dracula (1931) set the standard for every suave bloodsucker that followed, and let’s not forget the silent horror of Nosferatu (1922), where vampires were a little more... bat-like.

Fast forward to Interview with the Vampire (1994), and we see vampires as romantic anti-heroes, dripping in charisma and existential angst. Whether they’re terrifying creatures of the night or brooding immortals searching for meaning, vampires have always kept one foot in the coffin and the other in our hearts.

The Original Bloodsucker: Bram Stoker and His Creation

While vampire legends go back much further, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, published in 1897, is the book that truly codified the modern vampire myth. Stoker, an Irish writer and theatre manager, found his inspiration in both history and folklore, drawing on tales of Vlad the Impaler—a 15th-century ruler known for his cruelty—and Eastern European legends of revenants who rose from the dead to feast on the living.

"Listen to them—the children of the night. What music they make!" — Count Dracula, Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker

But Stoker’s creation isn’t just a tale from distant lands—it also has a deep connection to England. Whitby, a coastal town in North Yorkshire, served as the setting for a significant part of Dracula. It’s where the Count first arrives on English shores, in the form of a black dog, after his ship, the Demeter, crashes. Whitby’s dramatic cliffs and gothic atmosphere made it the perfect inspiration for a horror novel. Stoker himself visited the town in 1890 and was struck by its haunting beauty, weaving it into the novel’s fabric. Today, Whitby is still a pilgrimage site for fans of Dracula, with its annual Gothic Festival drawing in vampire enthusiasts from across the globe.

Stoker’s life was filled with dark undertones. He worked closely with the famous actor Henry Irving, whose dramatic presence might have inspired some of Dracula’s theatrical flair. And like his character Jonathan Harker, Stoker seemed fascinated by distant, mysterious lands and the secrets they held.

Inspiration: Vlad the Impaler and Beyond

Vlad the Impaler, or Vlad Dracula, was a real figure from Romanian history, known for impaling his enemies on stakes and his ruthless methods of dealing with opposition. This connection likely gave Stoker’s Count Dracula his chilling name and some of his brutal reputation. But Stoker wasn’t just focused on historical bloodshed—he was also fascinated by the folklore of the vampire, a creature that was said to rise from the grave to drink the blood of the living, a metaphor for parasitic relationships and fears about death.

Victorian London, where Stoker wrote Dracula, was a time of great social anxiety. Immigration was rising, and fears about the “other” threatening British society were at their peak—Dracula, an aristocrat from Eastern Europe, embodied this fear of foreign invaders. Add in the era’s obsession with death and sexual repression, and you’ve got a character who preys on innocence and embodies forbidden desire.

The World Around Dracula

Stoker's Dracula came out during the height of the Victorian era when society was caught between strict moral codes and an undercurrent of curiosity about the supernatural. Ghost stories, séances, and spiritualism were all the rage, and vampires, with their undead allure and rule-breaking nature, fit perfectly into this gothic landscape. As the Industrial Revolution pushed society forward, people clung to these dark myths to explain the unexplainable, even as they feared what modern science might uncover.

"The world changes, we do not, there lies the irony that finally kills us." — Armand (Antonio Banderas), Interview with the Vampire (1994)

Vampires: Eternal Legacy

Vampires have always been a reflection of human desires and fears, which is why they’ve remained so popular in every era. Whether representing a fear of death, outsiders, or repressed desire, vampires captivate us with their ability to live forever, looking fabulous while doing it. So, if you hear a soft fluttering outside your window tonight, don’t panic. Just check for bite marks in the morning.