If you are completing a DSAR (data subject access request), conducting video surveillance, running video analytics, or any other process with video, you need to remember license plate numbers are also considered personal data. This means they also have to be anonymised.

Where do you start? Secure Redact is the perfect tool to redact quickly and easily!

When you go to upload media, you should see a pop-up with options for uploading. First, select your media of choice. Then, you’ll have the option to redact: either “faces” and/or “license plates”. Click “license plates” to redact number plates (and faces if you wish to do so as well), and then click upload. 

Once you have uploaded your media, license plates will have orange boxes overlaid on them. These show where the redactions will be once the final video is exported. 

Like any system, Secure Redact isn’t 100% accurate - video is a very busy medium and between occlusion, changes in angles, and a lot of movement, it is hard for any system to not miss something, even AI. Particularly when a video is particularly busy, there is a small chance a number plate might be missed. But, no need to worry as you can simply watch the video back to double-check check all the necessary license plates have been redacted properly.

If Secure Redact has missed a license plate you need to redact, this can be easily solved by creating a new track for that license plate. 

Quickfire: what is a track?

A track is a consecutive set of orange redaction boxes that follows the same face throughout the video. It allows you to have consistent redaction of that one individual across multiple frames.

Simply right-click in the desired frame and then click “add track”. You should then see a yellow box that you can adjust the size of, and drag to cover the license plate you need to redact.  

You should then see the individual track view appear on the right, with the start and end frame numbers. You’ll notice that the start frame is now the same as the frame number you are currently on (i.e. where you added the yellow box). 

You can then skip forward through the frames by going forward in the video with the video controls - up until where you want that track to end (i.e. when the vehicle and license plate go out of frame). Then right-click on the screen again and click “Add track end”. You can then adjust the box as required and place it on the license plate. 

Once you have chosen your start and end frame, the “start” button will then illuminate. Press “start” and that track will appear in the processing tab. 

Note, the individual tracks panel also gives you the option to pick a type of tracker: track or zone. 

Quickfire: what is the difference between a track and a zone?

While a track is a consecutive set of redaction boxes that follows the individual throughout the video, a zone stays within a specific area of the video screen. For example, you could draw your yellow track box over a corner of the screen, then choose it as a zone, and it would stay in that corner and blur whatever came into that box, throughout the video. 

If you need to make a specific license plate visible, you can either remove the corresponding track or un-tick it in the track’s panel. 

Watch the full how-to video below!