Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 1, 2012. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
According to YouTube, the new tool named Face Blurring is intended to obscure every face in a video at the touch of a button. YouTube developed this function primarily to make faces unrecognizable in reporting. Particularly when it comes to publishing sensitive information such as protest actions, such a function is appropriate to protect personal rights and privacy.
Since it is also an innovative and, above all, young function, YouTube cannot guarantee that all faces will be found. Under difficult lighting conditions and low image quality, for example, problems can arise on the analysis side. As a result, individual faces are not recognized.
Incidentally, the new tool can be found under "Additional Features" after opening a video in the "Video Enhancements Tool." Once a video has been edited and meets the obscuring requirements, there is also the option to delete the original video.
