In the age of digital sharing, personal identifiers can be easily exposed, revealing sensitive information that can be misused. Blurring faces and plates is a simple yet crucial step in protecting our privacy and safeguarding our personal information.
Personal identifiers are unique pieces of data that can distinguish or trace a person identity. These can range from biological attributes, such as fingerprints or DNA, to digital footprints like IP addresses. However, when it comes to visual media such as images and videos, the most common personal identifiers are faces and license plates. These are frequently found in various sources, including journalistic reporting, dashcams, traffic surveillance, and even personal photo albums.
Understanding of Personal Identifiers
In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, the concept of personal identifiers has gained significant importance. According to the General Data Protection regulation (GDPR), Personal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person, also known as a ‘data subject’. An identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier
These can range from biological attributes, such as fingerprints or DNA, to digital footprints like IP addresses. However, when it comes to visual media such as images and videos, the most common personal identifiers are faces and license plates. These are frequently found in various sources, including street photography, dashcams, traffic surveillance and ADAS footage.
Why blur faces ?
A face can tell a thousand stories. It’s a unique part of who we are. Faces can express emotions and help connect with others. However, they can also be used to identify individuals. This is why blurring faces in images and videos is important.
Facial recognition technology has grown rapidly. This means that a simple photo or video can be used to identify a person. To keep people’s safe, blurring faces and license plates when sharing images and videos prevents unwanted attention.
Why blur license plates ?
License plates are like fingerprints for cars. Each one is unique and can be traced back to the owner of the vehicle. This makes license plates another important personal identifier to blur in images and videos.
When someone gets hold of a license plate number, they can find out a lot about the owner. This might include where they live or even their full name. To stop this from happening, we need to blur license plates in images and videos. This can help keep our personal information safe.
Why other personal identifiers should be blurred ?
In addition to faces and license plates, there are various other personal identifiers that should be protected to ensure privacy and prevent unauthorized access. Names, whether full or first names, can reveal someone’s identity and may require blurring or censoring in certain contexts. Personal identification numbers such as social security numbers or employee ID numbers should be safeguarded to prevent identity theft.
Residential addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses should also be blurred or removed to avoid potential risks such as harassment or spam. Furthermore, vehicle registration numbers, financial information like bank account or credit card numbers, and social media handles may need to be obscured to prevent unauthorized tracking or identification. Safeguarding these personal identifiers is crucial to maintain privacy and protect individuals from potential harm or misuse of their information.
Why are images and videos important when it comes to privacy?
Given the widespread availability of images and videos, the risk of privacy invasion has increased vastly.
Blurring images and videos is important because it helps protecting people’s privacy. In some cases, pictures and videos can show faces or car license plates. These information can provide some private information about the identity and the location of people
By blurring these details, we can stop people from finding out this information. This means we can share images and videos safely, without worrying about our privacy.
How can we blur faces and license plates?
There are many ways to blur faces and license plates in images and videos. One way is to use BlurIt, state of the art blurring solution. BlurIt is an AI based solution, that detects and blurs automatically faces and licence plates in any type of images and videos.
With BlurIt, you can choose to blur a face or a license plate or both at the same time in any given footage. A useful tool when you have lots of images or videos to go through.
The Right Way to Blur with BlurIt
Being compliant with privacy law and making sure to protect personal data visible in images and videos is an essential aspect of data privacy and security.
Our advanced AI algorithm, blurs perfectly the detected objects so that it cannot be recognized. Our blur is applied carefully, in a way that we do not ruin the visual aspect of the image or video and keeping the convyed message.
BlurIt offers three different versions to meet various needs: an online platform, an API, and an on-premise solution.
The online platform is user-friendly and accessible through a web browser, making it convenient for individuals. The API allows developers to integrate BlurIt’s blurring capabilities into their own applications or workflows.
On the other hand, the On-premise version is suitable for organizations in various sectors such as the self driving sector, the healthcare sector and the public sector with specific security requirements who want complete control over their data. With these options, BlurIt ensures flexibility and for users seeking effective face and license plate blurring solutions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, blurring faces and license plates in images and videos is a key step in protecting personal privacy. It helps keeping control over personal information in a world where images and videos are shared freely.
The rise of new technologies and the ease of accessing personal data make it essential for individuals and organizations to learn and implement effective ways to blur these personal identifiers. Whether you’re a professional photographer, a video editor, a journalist, or a casual internet user, understanding how to blur faces and license plates is important. Taking each step towards preserving privacy contributes to a safer and more secure digital environment with BlurIt.