AI Photo Anonymiser

What is the AI Photo Anonymiser?

The AI Photo Anonymiser allows you to choose a photo on your website (or upload a new one) and perform an anonymisation of the faces in it.
There are 2 possible anonymisations you can perform:

• Natural face replacement - we use AI to replace each face in the photo with realistic-looking faces that are not recognisable as the original people in the photo but maintain a similar feel. The replacement faces are designed to retain the general characteristics of the original people, such as approximate age, ethnicity, hairstyle and expression, while ensuring that they are no longer recognisable as the original individuals.
  

• Facial blur - each detected face in the image is blurred so that the person is no longer recognisable. 
  

How much does it cost?

You will need to purchase credits before carrying out an anonymisation. Credits are required because we incur a cost each time the AI engine processes your image.

Each anonymisation costs 2 AI credits. This applies whether you choose Natural face replacement or Blur faces. If you create another version, this will use another 2 credits.

Credits cost £100 + VAT for 150 credits, and can be used for both AI Policy Reviews and AI Photo Anonymisation.

How do I anonymise a photo?

1. Go to Images >  AI Photo Anonymiser > New anonymisation

2. Click on either the Natural face replacement or the Blur faces button.

3. In the window that opens up, click on the photo you wish to anonymise.
   Or click 'Upload' if the photo is on your local computer or network.

4. Once uploaded, click the button at the bottom labelled 'Insert'

5. When prompted to confirm that you want to use 2 AI credits, click OK
   The image is then securely sent to the AI service for processing. This can take a minute or so, and larger images may take longer. Please keep the page open until processing has completed.

How do I use the anonymised image on my website?

If you would like to replace an existing image:
If you've just performed the anonymisation, you’ll already be in the Details page. If not, navigate to it by…

1. Click on Images >  AI Photo Anonymiser > Existing anonymisations.

2. Click on the row for the image you would like to be used on the site to go to the Details page.

3. Click on the anonymised version to open the side-by-side image comparison.

4. Before using the new version, carefully compare it with the original and check every face in the image. In particular, make sure that no person remains recognisable. You can zoom into the image by clicking on the Zoom In button or clicking on the image itself and navigate around the image using the scroll bars or arrow keys.

5. If you’re happy with the image, click on the Use this version button, which will set it as the live version on the site. We will also copy the original file and store it in a subfolder called 'original' that sits in the folder where the anonymised image was saved. So for example, if your image was in:
   httpdocs/i/photos
   it will have been moved to:
   httpdocs/i/photos/original

If this is a new image:
Just insert the image into the page or gallery of your choice:

• How to add images to a page
• How to update banner / background photos
• How to create a photo gallery

What if I’m not happy with the anonymised image?

If one or more faces still appear too similar to the original, or you don't think the blur is sufficient, click Create another version in the image comparer. This will generate a new version and use another 2 AI credits.

What happens to my original photo?

Your original photo is not changed when you create an anonymised version. You can create and review one or more anonymised versions before deciding whether to use one on your website.

When you click Use this version, the anonymised image replaces the original image throughout the website. We keep a copy of the original file in an 'original' subfolder that sits in the folder where the anonymised image was saved, so it is not lost. You can manually delete the original should you wish.

What happens if the anonymisation fails?

Occasionally, an image may fail to process because of a temporary problem with the AI service or because there is an issue with the image itself. 
If this happens, the credits will NOT have been deducted and you can try the anonymisation again

What happens to my photo after it is sent to the AI?

Your image is securely sent to the AI server so that the requested anonymisation can be carried out. It is used only to process your request and create the anonymised version.

The AI Server does NOT use images submitted through its API to train or improve its AI models. The image received by the AI image is deleted once it has been processed.

Does the AI detect every face automatically?

The AI automatically detects and anonymises faces within the image, so you do not need to identify them individually.

However, automated face detection is not perfect. Small, distant, side-on or partially obscured faces can occasionally be missed. You should therefore carefully check every face in the completed image before using it on your website and make sure that anyone who needs to be anonymised is no longer recognisable.

Disclaimer

AI Photo Anonymiser uses automated face detection and AI processing. While it is designed to anonymise all visible faces, AI may occasionally miss a face or fail to anonymise it sufficiently, particularly where