When face blurring in videos is required
In Europe, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to any information that can identify someone. Identifiable information includes images and videos, including CCTV footage.
In the UK, GDPR is supplemented by the DPA (Data Protection Act) 2018. The DPA 2018 applies the GDPR’s provisions to certain types of processing that are outside the Regulation’s scope, including data processing regimes for law enforcement and intelligence processes.
In the US, video redaction is governed by federal and state laws, including Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
As a rule of thumb, blurring CCTV footage or other videos is necessary when sharing it with third parties, like law enforcement, insurance companies, or individuals sending in a subject access request (SAR).
In those cases, you’re required to blur out people’s faces (and any additional identifiable information) who are not the subject of the video or aren’t involved in the incident.
Here are some examples of data requests that would require blurring:
CCTV footage from a parking lot at a venue documenting a car accident
Video recording of an incident that happened in a school building
A bodycam video showing proof of fare dodging, and so on.
The cost of non-compliance with blurring requirements
In Europe, failure to comply with GDPR can lead to penalties and large fines. An Austrian retailer was fined €4,800 (about £4,250) for failing to inform people that surveillance cameras were in use outside its shop.
The UK GDPR and DPA 2018 set a maximum fine of £17.5 million or 4% of annual global turnover, whichever is greater. In the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued fines of more than £200 million against British Airways and Marriott International for GDPR violations.
The ICO also tracks reports of data security incidents, including “Failure to redact,” and shows that the number of reported incidents has been steadily rising:
In the USA, FERPA breaches can lead to loss of funding, legal action, and other consequences.
Available options for face blurring software
If you only get infrequent requests, you can blur videos manually with video editing software within the required timeframe (30 days for GDPR compliance).
However, frame-by-frame redaction can become too time-consuming to be completed on time.
Here are some possible scenarios:
An increase in video footage requests or requests for longer videos that require a lot of blurring.
Footage of crowded venues where manual face blurring will take up too much time.
Multiple objects that need to be masked since they contain identifiable information, such as IDs, credit cards, name tags and so on.
In those cases, many companies switch to a video redaction solution that can recognise faces, track moving people, and blur faces and other types of personal information automatically.
Pros and cons of different face blurring software options
There are multiple face blur software tools available to companies. In general, they can be broken down into the following categories:
Manual face blurring redaction tools, like Adobe Premiere
Cloud-based redaction tools, such as Secure Redact
On-premise video redaction solutions, such as our solution, Identity Cloak
Generic video redaction software like Reduct.Video
Specialized face blurring software, for example, Motorola Redactive for law enforcement
CCTV systems plug-ins, such as Axon Redaction or Identity Cloak plug-ins for Milestone’s XProtect
Here’s an overview of advantages and disadvantages for each of these solutions:
| Solution | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Manual face blurring tools | Easy to use, low cost or free solutions. | Require manual blurring for every frame, which is time-consuming. Increased risk of human error. |
| Cloud-based tools | Easy to use and can work with multiple types of videos. | Create additional cloud storage costs for the organisation and won’t work for industries with strict data protection regulations. |
| On-premise solutions | Help prevent data breaches since videos don’t need to be uploaded into the cloud. | Need to be installed and don’t always support shared usage, creating additional licence costs. |
| Generic video redaction software | These solutions offer video blurring in addition to other redaction tools, for example, audio or transcripts. | Typically limited ability to create audit logs and create an audit trail. |
| Specialised industry software | Can have integrations with industry tools, for example, for law enforcement. | Limited flexibility for other industries and typically high costs. |
| CCTV plug-ins | Make it easier to blur out videos without having to export and re-import them. Some solutions support live redaction for supervised footage. | Can be limited to a single video management system and not compatible with all required video formats, for example, bodycams. |
Not all of them are an equally good fit for any organisation, depending on industry data protection requirements, types of footage you need to work with, and video redaction budget.
Keep reading for the list of 8 factors to consider when comparing face blurring software options.
How to choose a video redaction tool that’s right for your organisation
Because different types of face blurring software have different pricing, key features, and use cases, we recommend building a list of requirements first to make tool comparison easier. Once you have a list of must-haves and nice-to-haves, you can create a shortlist of solutions and then try them out to see which one would be the easiest to use for your team.
Here’s the list of requirements we recommend building before testing different face blurring software options:
Auto face blur or manual face blur
As mentioned earlier, manual face blur is possible, but can be very time-consuming. You may want to consider using a solution that can automate frame-by-frame redactionData protection requirements
Do you need your solution to be on-premise, or can you consider cloud-based options as well? What about requirements for an air-gapped solution?Types of footage and file formats
Do you expect requests for CCTV, bodycam, mobile phone recordings, or other types of footage? Do you need to be able to handle specific file formats, including legacy formats?
If you’re using a legacy video system, you want to make sure that the solution that you choose can handle it. Identity Cloak, our solution, for example has an on-screen recorder.Stand-alone or plug-in solution preferences
Depending on the types of footage you need to redact and your CCTV setup, it may be worth considering a VMS plug-in instead of a standalone solution to avoid having to import and export video footage.Specific types of footage you need to handle
We recommend reviewing past data requests and making a list of typical types of footage that you need to be able to blur with minimal manual work. For example: Recordings of venues with crowds where face blurring may be less accurate, videos where you need to blur out sensitive areas or licence plates or additional requirements, for example, ability to handle videos of low-light environmentsAbility to redact audio track
Do you need to redact sensitive information captured on audio, for example, in bodycam footage?Pricing model
Do you get charged per minute? What happens if you don’t use up all of the minutes on your plan? Are there any restrictions on video duration or file size?Licencing model
Will you be able to have different team members process files, or do you need to have a dedicated person in charge of video redaction? How does it change for multi-location use cases?Free trial terms
Are there any free trial restrictions that may affect your ability to evaluate the solution before purchasing it, such as a limit on the number of files you can upload?
If you use this list as a starting point, you should be able to speed up your research and only try out solutions that are a match for your requirements. You can download the video redaction tools comparison template here.
One of the face blurring tools you can consider is our solution, Identity Cloak.
It’s available as an on-premise solution for industries with strict data protection requirements, and as a Milestone add-on for companies that need to blur faces in live or recorded footage.
Identity Cloak for face blurring
Identity Cloak has been designed to make it easy for anyone to blur faces, licence plates, or bodies. Our clients include over 80 retail, healthcare, education, transportation, venues and government organisations.
On-premise Identity Cloak desktop version
The Identity Cloak desktop version is the best fit for companies that need an on-premise video solution to quickly process video footage in a compliant manner. On average, a video redaction project takes only 12 minutes.
Key Identity Cloak features include:
Automated people and vehicle detection and tracking
Support for any video file format
Multiple blur types with different settings
Built-in audio redaction
Read more about these features below.
Identity Cloak features
Automated detection and tracking
Identity Cloak’s AI automatically detects and tracks moving people and vehicles and blurs faces and licence plates. It works even on footage with multiple people or vehicles in motion, such as crowded venues, schools, or trains and buses.
“Even in complex scenes, Identity Cloak finds and redacts the vast majority of sensitive material automatically and minimises the need for manual intervention.”
Paul Whelan, Data Protection Officer (DPO) at CIÉ
Legacy format support
You can import MP4 and AVI files directly into Identity Cloak, or use our screen recorder feature to import legacy files without having to convert them.
For example, River Island can process footage from multiple legacy CCTV systems inside Identity Cloak and stay protected from compliance risks.
Read more about using this feature here.
Multiple blur types
In some cases, face blurring is not enough to protect an individual’s identity. Visible tattoos, uniforms, name tags, or recognisable clothing may need to be blurred as well.
To help teams complete footage redaction faster, Identity Cloak supports automated face tracking blur and body tracking blur. You can also add one-click manual blur zones that conceal signs, ID tags, phone screens, and other types of information, or use the inverse blur mode for sensitive environments.
These capabilities are especially relevant for educational organisations, venues and museums, and healthcare organisations.
Read more about different blur settings here.
“It takes us one or two minutes to retrieve the video and usually about half an hour to process and output a compliant record of events. That’s compared to the hours it used to take to redact video and the resource drain on Wembley Park. Identity Cloak is easy to use.”Savio Fernandes, Wembley Park’s Site Security Manager
Audio redaction
For video footage that has an audio track, you can edit out instances when personal information is shared. This can be done in Identity Cloak, without having to use any additional editing tools.
One of our customers, King’s College Hospital, is using this feature to process footage from body worn devices to add a layer of evidence and context.
Read more about Identity Cloak’s audio redaction capabilities here.
Flexible blur settings
Identity Cloak also makes it easy to adjust the size and the transparency of blur depending on the video quality and PII visibility without having to make those changes manually. You just need to change the blur settings once, and Identity Cloak will apply those changes automatically.
The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT) is using Identity Cloak to handle a variety of footage types, from parking lots to different hospital environments.
“The software is incredibly easy to use, it’s so intuitive. We just upload the video, set our preferences, and let the automation do the work. As a small team, we simply don’t have the time to make lots of manual adjustments. Identity Cloak saves us hours.”
Natasha Quick, Security Lead and Local Security Management Specialist (LSMS)
See how you can change the degree and the size of blur in our knowledge base articles.
Identity Cloak pricing
Our pricing is based on the number of videos you need to blur, not the number of minutes in your video footage.
We also don’t have any limits on video duration and on the file size for import or export. All Identity Cloak features are available across plans, and we offer discounts to healthcare and educational organisations.
Click here to find out more about Identity Cloak pricing and set up your free trial.
Identity Cloak Plugin for Milestone XProtect
Identity Cloak Milestone plug-ins — Milestone Live XProtect and Milestone Playback XProtect — save time for organisations that primarily work with CCTV footage.
Milestone Live XProtect plug-in provides live redaction for supervised footage, for example, at venues or in retail centres.
Milestone Playback XProtect plugin blurs of personal information in recorded footage. It keeps the original file intact and supports video file import through screen recorder.
You can find out more about the plug-in features here.
Is Identity Cloak right for you?
Here are some of the reasons why our customers decided to use Identity Cloak:
Can easily handle high-volume footage requests
Automated blurring across multiple video sources
Automatically application of different types of blurring
Predictable yearly fees
Redaction of long video files without additional costs
Start your Identity Cloak trial
Download your free trial to see Identity Cloak in action. If you have any questions, or would like one of our product experts to walk you through using Identity Cloak, please reach out to our team.
