YouTube has added a new tool that builds on a 2012 feature allowing movie-makers to blur all human faces in a video. The new tool allows filmmakers to make a rectangle around any object in the clip, which will cause YouTube to automatically blur the item as it moves through the video's scene.
This lets Hollywood and indie filmmakers to blur any information they do not want the audience to see. That could be a person' face, naked body parts, brand names, or license plate numbers.
Video creators can also blur an object that does not move in a scene. They must select "Lock" so the fixed object such as a parked car's plates will stay unclear, according to Engadget.
YouTube's software will always allow video makers to preview the blurred video. That lets people tweak the spot where the rectangle is to make the video crisper and clearer.
Google released a statement about the new feature on February 25, Thursday. It shared that it built the feature to make certain objects in a movie visually unclear. Movie-makers can blur faces, financial data, and contact information without needing to pull and re-upload the content, according to Tech Crunch.
The Alphabet company shared that it uses new tech for the blurring tool that analyzes videos in order to track objects on the fly. New innovations in machine vision have likely helped to make the new YouTube feature possible.
Google's video sharing site will help to make life easier for filmmakers. This could prevent a lot of unwanted texts, calls or emails if they displayed their phone number in a home video, for example.
In other YouTube news it is now possible listen to videos without watching them, according to The Independent. iPhone and iPad users who installed the YouTube app can listen to music while they do other tasks such as house cleaning or grocery shopping.
App users just have to open the video and play it, then press the home button so the application closes and the audio stops. The music will play again after pressing the play button on earphones.
Here's the face-blurring feature in YouTube: