
CyberLink
CyberLink is a Taiwanese multimedia software publisher whose AI-powered range spans video, photo and audio editing, marketing visuals, media playback and the FaceMe facial recognition engine, sold as desktop apps, mobile apps and developer SDKs.
What is CyberLink?
CyberLink Corporation is a Taiwanese software publisher founded in 1996 and listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange as 5203.TW. It presents itself as a world leader in multimedia software and AI facial recognition, and claims more than 200 patented technologies, over 400 million software titles and apps shipped, and more than 1,000 global awards. Its site organises all this around four pillars: create, play, connect, and FaceMe.
The creative side is the Director family. PowerDirector 365 is the flagship video editor for Windows and macOS, mixing AI agents that build a rough cut from a spoken instruction with a professional multi-track timeline, keyframes, multicam and colour work, plus 130 million royalty-free assets from Getty Images and the Meta Sound Collection. PhotoDirector 365 covers photo work, from RAW files, layers and portrait retouching to generative features that call on third-party models such as Veo 3.1, Sora-2, Nano Banana Pro and Flux for image generation, image-to-video and object replacement. AudioDirector 365 and ColorDirector 365 handle sound and grading, and Director Suite bundles the three. Promeo targets online sellers with marketing visuals and social ads, while MyEdit offers a free browser-based editor for image, audio and video.
Beyond creation, PowerDVD 24 is a Blu-ray and 8K media player, YouCam 365 covers webcam use, Screen Recorder 4 handles capture and streaming, and Power2Go 13 does burning and backup. Five free mobile apps, among them PowerDirector, PhotoDirector and Promeo, extend the range to iOS and Android.
The business arm is FaceMe, a facial recognition engine claiming 99.83% accuracy, top global placings in the NIST 1:1 and 1:N benchmarks, iBeta Level 2 anti-spoofing and recognition in a tenth of a second. It ships as an edge SDK for Windows, Linux, Android, iOS and low-cost SoCs, as an HTTP API platform running on Docker with failover and load balancing, and as turnkey products for security, people tracking and eKYC. CyberLink says more than 450 organisations across over 25 countries use it, government agencies and financial institutions included.
What it does
- Edit video from plain-language instructions, with AI planning the cut, picking clips and writing narration
- Generate video from a text prompt or a single still, and transfer motion onto a character or avatar
- Generate and restyle images, replace objects by prompt, swap faces and try outfits on virtually
- Remove objects, people, wires and backgrounds from photos and from moving footage
- Repair and enlarge media: deblur, denoise, stabilise, colour-correct and upscale
- Produce voice-overs, automatic captions, transcripts and original background music
- Run facial recognition, liveness detection, eKYC and video analytics through FaceMe
When to use CyberLink / When not to
A quick filter to help you decide if CyberLink is the right fit.
When to use CyberLink
- Content creators and YouTubers who need fast, AI-assisted video editing on Windows or macOS
- Photographers and hobbyists after RAW processing, layer editing, retouching and AI upscaling
- Small businesses and online sellers producing social ads and product visuals with Promeo
- Teachers and students, who get up to 40% off and a Chromebook edition built for the classroom
- System integrators and security teams deploying facial recognition through the FaceMe SDK or HTTP API
When not to use CyberLink
- Teams wanting browser-based collaborative editing: the Director products are desktop software you install
- Developers looking for a public API around the consumer editors, which exists only for FaceMe
- Organisations that require a signed DPA, a subprocessor list or an explicit GDPR compliance statement
- Writers and text-first users, since the catalogue is entirely audiovisual
- Heavy generative users on a tight budget: AI credits are capped monthly, expire, and are not refunded once spent
How to use CyberLink
A typical end-to-end flow, from setup to results.
- Pick a product in the catalogue: video, photo, audio, marketing, playback, webcam or disc burning
- Download the free trial from the official site, or install the mobile app from the App Store or Google Play
- Skip installation entirely by working in MyEdit, the free browser-based editor
- Create a CyberLink Member Zone account to manage your profile, plan and subscription
- Start free with PowerDirector Essential, which has no time limit and keeps core editing and basic AI tools
- Import your clips or photos, then run Auto Edit on up to 100 clips or simply describe the edit you want
- Apply the AI tools: object and background removal, denoise, upscaling, auto captions, generated voice
- Keep an eye on your monthly AI credits, 100 with PowerDirector 365 and 200 with Director Suite
- Export to MP4, MKV, WMV or MPEG-2 up to 4K, or publish straight to YouTube, TikTok, Facebook or Vimeo
- Upgrade or cancel from Member Zone under Manage Plan; cancelling drops you back to the free Essential version without losing projects
Pros & Cons
Pros
- A publisher established since 1996, publicly listed, holding more than 200 patented technologies
- A genuinely permanent free tier: PowerDirector Essential with no time limit, free mobile apps, and the MyEdit web editor
- Low entry pricing, with PhotoDirector 365 from USD 3.33 a month and PowerDirector 365 at USD 59.99 a year
- A real choice between a perpetual licence and a subscription, which is rare among AI creative tools
- Leading third-party generative models built straight in, including Veo 3.1, Sora-2, Nano Banana Pro and Flux
- Getty Images and Meta Sound Collection assets included royalty-free, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee
- Up to 40% off for students and teachers, volume licensing, and a Chromebook edition for classrooms
Cons
- The GDPR is never mentioned anywhere on the site, and no DPA or subprocessor list is published
- No single pricing page for the publisher: each product carries its own price, always under a countdown promotion
- The Director products are desktop software to install, with no online collaborative editing
- Monthly AI credits are capped at 100 or 200, carry an expiry date, and are not refunded once consumed
- Generated video stays on CyberLink's servers for only thirty days, images for one year
- No public API around the consumer products; the API exists only on the FaceMe side
- No support email is published, and disputes fall under Taiwanese law with arbitration in Taipei
Pricing & Plans
A permanent free tier is available: PowerDirector Essential runs without any time limit, the MyEdit web editor is free, and the mobile apps install at no cost. The cheapest paid entry point in the catalogue is PhotoDirector 365 at USD 3.33 per month, a promotional rate advertised at 35% off and billed annually. PowerDirector 365 costs USD 59.99 a year, or USD 24.99 on a month-to-month plan, and a perpetual PowerDirector 2026 licence is USD 139.99. Every purchase made through the CyberLink store carries a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- PowerDirector Essential — free
- no time limit
- core editing and basic AI features
- PowerDirector 2026 — USD 139.99
- perpetual licence
- basic AI
- 25 GB cloud storage
- PowerDirector 365 — USD 59.99 per year (listed at USD 79.99)
- about USD 5.00 per month
- 100 monthly AI credits
- 50 GB cloud storage
- PowerDirector monthly subscription — USD 24.99 per month
- PowerDirector 365 for Mac — USD 5.00 per month
- Director Suite — USD 99.99 per year (listed at USD 139.99)
- about USD 8.33 per month
- 200 monthly AI credits
- 100 GB cloud storage
- includes PhotoDirector 365 and AudioDirector 365
- PhotoDirector 365 — from USD 3.33 per month
- Windows and Mac editions
- AudioDirector 365 — USD 4.33 per month
- ColorDirector 365 — USD 5.83 per month
- Promeo — USD 5.00 per month
- or +USD 34.99 per year as an add-on to a 365 plan
- YouCam 365 — USD 4.17 per month
- PowerDVD 24 — USD 79.99 (listed at USD 99.99)
- one-time purchase
- Power2Go 13 — USD 48.99 (listed at USD 69.99)
- one-time purchase
- Screen Recorder 4 — USD 49.99
- Unlimited Stock Content add-on — +USD 49.99 per year
- about USD 4.17 per month
- for the Getty Images library
- Volume Licensing and education pricing through the Volume License Store
- FaceMe — no public price
- quoted through the contact form or a demo request
Data, GDPR & hosting
A consolidated view of how CyberLink handles your data.
GDPR overview
No page collected mentions the GDPR by name: neither the acronym nor its full form appears anywhere in the thirteen pages gathered, in visible text or in the archived HTML. The framework is only partly visible. Both the terms of service and the privacy policy close on a designated EU representative for data protection issues, Perfect Corp., 55 Boulevard Pereire, 75017 Paris, contactable at privacy@cyberlink.com. Detailed data-subject rights are spelled out under Californian law rather than European law: rights to know, access, correct, delete and opt out, exercised by email, toll-free phone or written request to the Taiwanese head office, with a 30-day response commitment. Governing law is Taiwan and disputes go to arbitration in Taipei. Both policies were last updated in August 2026.
Who owns the data?
CyberLink's terms give ownership of generative outputs to the user: you own the content generated from your submissions, to the extent permitted by law, and you remain solely responsible for whatever you upload. CyberLink reserves the right to use both submissions and outputs to improve the generative AI experience, and warns that it guarantees neither your copyright ownership nor freedom from third-party infringement. Data is collected by CyberLink Corporation and may be stored, transferred and processed across the CyberLink Group in the United States, Taiwan and Japan. Using the generative features requires explicit consent to biometric data collection. The privacy policy states personal information is never sold or shared for commercial purposes.
Reuse rights
Outputs may be used commercially when they are photos or images; video outputs stay subject to the additional licence terms of sections 5(IV)(b) and 5(IV)(c). Stock assets from Getty Images and the Meta Sound Collection are pre-cleared royalty-free for commercial and personal use, and AI-generated music carries no licensing fee and no copyright claim. Reuse is nonetheless fenced in: NSFW output, malicious deepfakes, defamation and breaches of personality or privacy rights are prohibited, as is using the service to build datasets for training neural networks or templates for competing products.
Data retention & training
Hosting summary
CyberLink names no data centre and declares no hosting region. What the privacy policy does state is which group entities may hold the data: information collected through the websites, mobile apps and desktop software may be stored, transferred and processed by CyberLink.Com Corp. in the United States, CyberLink Corp. in Taiwan and CyberLink Inc. in Japan. The policy acknowledges that these three jurisdictions may have laws and data protection requirements different from those of the user's own country, and states that transfers comply with applicable law. Governing law is Taiwan and arbitration takes place in Taipei. On security, the policy claims encryption using TLS and SHA256, and access restricted to staff bound by contractual confidentiality obligations. For FaceMe specifically, CyberLink states that it keeps no global database, that each deployment is private, and that users may request deletion of their data at any time.
Things to keep in mind
Risks and trade-offs to weigh before adopting CyberLink.
- Using the generative features requires explicit consent to CyberLink collecting and using your biometric information
- Face swap and character motion transfer make deepfakes easy; the terms forbid malicious use, but the capability ships in the box
- CyberLink gives no warranty that you can claim copyright on generated content, nor that it avoids infringing third-party rights
- The terms themselves warn that outputs may be inaccurate, offensive, harmful or otherwise inappropriate
- Extensive portrait and body retouching, from wrinkles and skin to arms, legs, hips and waist, can quietly distort self-image, especially among younger users
- Personal data is transferred to Japan, the United States and Taiwan, where protection requirements may differ from those where you live
- Auto Edit and AI storytelling do the craft for you, which is convenient but a poor way to learn how editing actually works
Setup & Integrations
Technical difficulty
Low for the creative products. The Director range is downloaded and installed on Windows 11 or 10 and macOS, with the CyberLink Application Manager handling 365 subscriptions and a Member Zone account managing the plan. MyEdit needs nothing but a browser, and the mobile apps install from the usual stores. CyberLink advertises a drag-and-drop interface aimed at beginners, backed by a free Learning Center and official video tutorials. FaceMe is a different matter: it is integrated by developers through an SDK or an HTTP API, with Docker, failover and load balancing to configure.
Deployment
Apps stores
Integrations
Supported languages
Behind CyberLink
Fundraising
Social
Resources
All the official URLs gathered for verification and reference.
Frequently asked questions
Who is behind CyberLink?
Is there a free version?
How much does PowerDirector cost?
Which platforms are supported?
Who owns the content generated by the AI?
How long is my content kept on CyberLink's servers?
Is there a minimum age?
Is there an API?
Are there discounts?
Is CyberLink GDPR compliant?
Should you pick CyberLink?
CyberLink is one of the few AI creative suites with three decades behind it. Founded in 1996 and listed in Taipei, it has turned a catalogue built on video editing and disc playback into a range where generative AI is genuinely embedded rather than bolted on: agents that assemble a rough cut from a sentence, text-to-video and image-to-video powered by leading third-party models, object and background removal, voice generation, captions and original music. For a creator, a teacher or a small online seller the value is unusually concrete, with a permanent free tier, an entry price near USD 3.33 a month, a perpetual licence for those who refuse subscriptions, and Getty Images assets included.
The reservations are just as concrete. Pricing is fragmented across more than ten products, and every figure on the site sits under a countdown promotion, which makes the real cost hard to read. Generative work runs on monthly AI credits that are capped, expire and are not refunded once spent. Generated video is deleted from CyberLink's servers after thirty days. On the compliance side the picture is thin for a company of this size: the GDPR is never named, no data processing agreement is offered, no subprocessor list is published and no support email exists, even though an EU representative is formally designated in Paris and biometric consent is required to use the generative features.
FaceMe sits somewhat apart, a serious benchmark-ranked facial recognition engine sold to integrators, banks and public agencies through its own SDK and HTTP API. It shares the brand but not the buying journey.
In short: an established, well-priced and unusually complete creative toolkit with real generative substance, whose weakest link is the transparency of its pricing and its data governance.
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