Blur faces
shortcut
The Face Blur iOS shortcut is a handy tool designed for enhancing privacy in your photos. With just a few taps, this shortcut automatically identifies and blurs all the faces in your images directly from your iPhone or iPad. It's an excellent tool for those who wish to share photos on social media or other platforms while keeping identities confidential and safe.
My Role
Core Concept
Sourced Developer
Core Feature Creation
QA + Testing
Type
Self-Guided
Duration
Less than 24 hours
IN THE NEWS
The Face Blur iOS shortcut was conceived to address privacy concerns in digital photography, particularly in the context of the Black Lives Matter Protests. The project's primary aim is to provide an effective and user-friendly solution that automatically detects, and blurs faces in images, guaranteeing the safety and confidentiality of individuals when sharing photos across different platforms. The Face Blur iOS shortcut is exclusively optimized for use on iPhones and iPads, leveraging the devices' functionalities and user interface to deliver a smooth and seamless experience. It's worth noting that this tool was developed in less than 24 hours.
ChallengeDevelop an iOS shortcut that autonomously blurs faces in photos, ensuring user anonymity. build in less than 24 hours before all of the protests.
Insight
Many individuals, including those new to protesting, actively participated in various demonstrations. However, we must be mindful of the risks associated with our current social media age, where people often feel compelled to share their location and experiences. It is crucial to understand that posting photos of protests on social media can inadvertently endanger individuals involved. We must prioritize the privacy and safety of individuals by refraining from sharing images that could potentially compromise their well-being.
PERSONAS
SOCIAL MEDIA USER
A socially engaged individual is often deeply involved in various causes and uses digital platforms to express their views and rally support. They are typically active on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, sharing updates from protests, informative content, and mobilizing others to join the cause. They are tech-savvy and use devices like smartphones to capture photos at protests and post them online. Privacy and safety are paramount to them, so they utilize tools that protect them, such as encrypted messaging apps and photo editing features that can blur faces in images. Balancing activism with other responsibilities, they strive to stay updated on news and events related to their causes.
FIRST TIME PROTESTOR
A person who (for the first time) decided to take an active part in a public demonstration or rally. They may feel strongly about a particular cause or issue and have decided to express their views publicly. This person may be nervous or unsure about what to expect, but is driven by a desire to make a difference. They may be researching how to stay safe during protests, the legal rights of protestors, and effective ways to get their message across. They will likely be figuring out the best ways to share their experiences, such as through social media or other digital platforms while maintaining their privacy and security. Despite being new to the scene, they're ready to step out of their comfort zone for what they believe in.
COMMUNITY LEADERS
An influential figure who actively participates in public demonstrations or rallies to advocate for their community. They are often well-known and respected within their community, using this influence to mobilize others and organize protests. Their deep understanding of the issues and strong communication skills effectively rally support and spread awareness. They are also proficient in leveraging social media and other digital platforms to reach a larger audience, share updates, and promote their cause, all while prioritizing the privacy and security of their community members. As leaders, they are looked up to for guidance, inspiration, and strength during challenging times.
CORE FEATURES
AI FACIAL RECOGNITION
We used Amazon's Rekognition API to identify faces in an image. This enabled us to make sure that every face in the uploaded image was blurred. We chose this option as it was cost-effective and efficient compared to other available platforms, even though they had more advanced features.
ZERO META-DATA AND FLATTENS IMAGE
This shortcut performs 50 actions in the background, with select steps dedicated to eliminating meta-data and creating a perfectly flat image. It's important to note that this shortcut removes ALL DATA connected to the image, including the location, camera type, and time taken. One of its standout features is the ability to produce a lossy jpg with blurred faces, making it ideal for social media uploads.
BITCRUSHES/PIXELATES FACES
In order to cater to finance professionals, consultants, and agency workers, it's important to customize your AI-powered presentation tool to meet their specific needs and preferences. Your focus should be on incorporating features that align with their unique requirements, making sure that your solution simplifies their creative process while delivering visually stunning and engaging presentations to enhance their professional image.
SEAMLESS & EASY
Our primary objective was to streamline the process of sharing photos and reduce any obstacles that may arise for users. We recognize that individuals often desire to share their photos quickly, especially during peaceful protests. We developed theiOS shortcut that simplifies the photo-sharing process while also prioritizing user safety. This shortcut can execute 50 distinct actions within mere seconds, making it an impressively efficient and speedy means of uploading photos on social media.
iOS SHORTCUT
An iOS shortcut was used to bypass the Apple application approval stage. This allowed for real-time scrappy uses and information to be provided to protestors. The shortcut helped optimize the development process and allowed for focus on other critical aspects of the concept. Overall, it was a strategic decision that helped support the pursuit of justice and equality.
SHORTCUT ACTIONS
VIRAL & IN THE NEWS
The iOS shortcut Blurs Faces gained recognition in various articles, including those from Hyperallergic, PetaPixel, TechCrunch, and Lifehacker. It was even retweeted by Jack Dorsey on twitter.
CONVERSATIONS of privacy and ethical photo journalism were happening
There is a feature on the Hyperallergic podcast that discusses the ethics and morals of publishing protest photography for editorial submissions
Altering Protest March Photographs to Hide Marchers' Identities
Via Aperature book submission from olu oguibe
When protests broke out across the United States following George Floyd's death in police custody in late May 2020, some concluded that the law-enforcement response was high-handed and hostile. After a couple of his friends were rounded up by police at a protest, the software developer Noah Conk created an Apple mobile-device shortcut that enabled blurring the faces of individuals in photographs before sharing them on social media. He reasoned that such anonymization would make it harder for law enforcement to identify and target marchers with recrimination.
Conk's intervention came amid a raging debate over the ethics of altering documentary photographs. Eventually, the subject split into myriad other questions: Does the public have the right to alter a photojournalist's images? Conversely, does a photographer have the right, never mind an obligation, to obliterate a subject's identity without that person's approval?
Whereas Conk saw hiding the identity of protest marchers as a form of protection from law enforcement that is, as a measure of safety and privacy others saw it as dubious alteration of history at large and, on a personal level, even violent and unfair erasure.
As scholars and photographers weighed in on the issue, one key voice was prominently missing. Maurice Berger spent many years investigating the critical role that protest photographs of the Civil Rights Movement played, not only in documentary history, but also in activism. In his most recent curatorial work and scholarship, Berger focused on the protest photographer as witness. Sadly, only two months before the outbreak of the summer protests, Berger became an early victim of the coronavirus pandemic. What one would give to have Maurice Berger's take on this subject.
-Olu Oguibe