The only way you can buy it is with cloud included as a subscription

You said

> you can only run CC that sends all your images to them

It doesn’t send all your images to Adobe, it only sends the ones you choose to save in the cloud.

If you want to complain about having to subscribe to the software instead of purchasing outright, then do that. Don’t complain about something that isn’t happening.

It's the key feature that makes it Creative Cloud, didn't mean to imply that it was scanning offline files.

They do use the images you upload to train their (non-generative) AI for things like background removal.

Aside from the Cloud bullshit, Photoshop's auto-update is a pain. After some regression I disabled updates right after they fixed it. But recently when I open Photoshop, it's started giving me a nagging popup about being out-of-date. It's done more-or-less the same thing for many years, just take my subscription money and leave me alone!

I still have my 2006 copy of CS4. Took me till last year to find a feature I'm bummed about not having (new brush files aren't always compatible)