YouTube embraces anonymity on the web with face blurring video tool

Google is rolling out the new tool as increasing numbers of citizen journalists capture and upload eyewitness footage of breaking news events or humanitarian rights violations. With a quick and easy-to-use tool that blurs out faces, people can share their stories and have their voice heard in situations where, without visual anonymity, they might otherwise be afraid to speak out.

“Whether you want to share sensitive protest footage without exposing the faces of the activists involved, or share the winning point in your 8-year-old’s basketball game without broadcasting the children’s faces to the world, our face blurring technology is a first step towards providing visual anonymity for video on YouTube,” said Amanda Conway, YouTube policy associate.  

The technology is still in its infancy “which means it sometimes has difficulty detecting faces depending on the angle, lighting, obstructions and video quality,” said Google, so it’s possible that not all faces within the video will be obscured.

Google also provides a few brief tips on how to protect yourself and others when you upload videos on the web on a post on its Google Policy Blog, http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/protecting-yourself-and-others-in.html.

According to recent study by the Pew Research Center, “More than a third of the most watched videos [on YouTube] (39%) were clearly identified as coming from citizens.”

The Blur All Faces feature can be found by clicking on “Additional Features” within YouTube’s Video Enhancement tool.