Secure Crowd Footage: Free App for Safe & Responsible Filming

Online privacy is already a bit head-spinning, once you start to look into it, and given the speed at which technology develops, it's only going to escalate. Knowing how to protect yourself and the people around you isn't as simple as using a pseudonym, especially when so much of the internet relies on user-generated content. This goes especially for political speech.

As protests against police violence and racial injustice continue, footage spreads virally through social media. While attending a protest is free speech, being spotted at a political gathering has always carried some risks for certain groups, and whatever the merits, it can result in retaliation or termination for some workers, even before possible targeted harassment from opponents.

That's why Anonymous Camera has come on the scene; the free iOS app uses AI to blur out faces and back out profiles, even while filming live motion. The program can also alter voices and protect sources within a generated file's metadata. While attending a protest isn't top of mind for most recruiters or HR while analyzing your online presence, it's always important to understand your company's social media and other outside-the-workplace policies, thanks to laws about at-will employment.

Anonymous Camera can help maintain anonymity even if you're in the background or a crowd. Additional features are available for about $2; in its review, The Verge points out that the app still has room to grow, but we may start seeing more products like Anonymous Camera in our hyperconnected, data-driven future.