YouTube is launching a new feature that allows users to obscure faces of people in videos they upload. Here’s how it works.
New developments on the YouTube front: the introduction of a new feature that allows video uploaders to obscure people’s faces has been officially announced.
This decision is aimed at safeguarding everyone’s privacy but, in particular, this function was primarily designed for footage that accurately depicts events during political demonstrations.
The idea was sparked by the Arab Spring, and without dwelling too much on the past, the reasoning is equally applicable to what is currently happening in Syria: while informing is absolutely essential, a video could sometimes put the people depicted in a dangerous situation.
For this reason, the YouTube system will propose face obscuring, either automatically or via suggestion: in the latter case, users can click on the dedicated button to activate the obscuring.
YouTube has stated that this functionality is still in what could be described as an embryonic phase: the image quality will not always be excellent.
Furthermore, at present, users can select the function, keeping in mind that the system will obscure all faces indiscriminately or none at all.
In short, in its current activation state, the function is not yet selective, preventing users from choosing specific faces to obscure.
An imperfect system, but one that will apparently be improved soon, thus guaranteeing the privacy and security rights of the people depicted.
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