YouTube adds face blurring feature to hide subjects
updated 02:55 pm EDT, Wed July 18, 2012
YouTube among the first video-sharing sites to allow blurring faces
YouTube has launched a new feature for its video-sharing service, allowing video owners to make their subjects anonymous and thus protect their identities. This could prove useful when uploading political protests or less sensitive footage such as kids' games. The blur can be applied to new or existing videos and is available under the Video Enhancements tool and Additional Features.
Users will get a preview of what the result will look like, and a new copy will be created. The original video can then be deleted or kept.
But YouTube techs admit the technology is far from perfect and has some trouble detecting some faces at uncommon angles, in certain light, and behind obstructions. Also, the video quality needs to be fairly high. Thus, some faces or frames of the videos will not be blurred, so it's important to preview the entire video before posting it.
YouTube also provides users with a list of other ways to help protect the identities of those in the videos and the video creators themselves.
