Google rolls out a new tool that lets YouTube users blur anything out of their videos, even when the object is moving.
Called the Custom Blurring feature, it allows creators to draw a box around an item they want to fog up. They can set the position of the selected area in place via the Lock button or resize it, but they also have the option to hand over the reins to YouTube and have the website automatically stay on the blurred-out object thanks to "new innovative technology." On top of those, they can adjust the starting and stopping points of the tool.
To access it, head on over to one of your videos, select Enhancements and go to Blurring Effects. As everyone will see there, it has two options for blurring: Blur Faces and Custom Blurring.
The Blur Faces option has been a part of YouTube since 2012, and it's considered as the company's first effort toward anonymity on the website. It functions just as the name suggests, automatically blurring out faces it detects in a video. Custom Blurring is essentially a step-up in that direction.
This is a nifty feature from any perspective, but as expected, YouTube's main goal in developing this is to keep personal details and people's faces and identities safe in a convenient way.
"While the use cases for this tool are vast, we built this feature with visual anonymity in mind. We wanted to give you a simple way to blur things like people, contact information or financial data without having to remove and re-upload your content," Amanda Conway, privacy lead at YouTube, says.
YouTube is really stepping up to the plate this time around, not to mention it acquired BandPage just recently to let musicians get in touch with fans more easily. Seeing as how effective the video-streaming website is at delivering music to the public, this is more or less a natural move for the musician-profiling company to make.
With more than 1 billion active users across the world, YouTube is doing a good job of bringing tools and features that millions of people will definitely have a use for.
Photo : Rego Korosi | Flickr
