Photo: City of Amsterdam
Amsterdam develops blurring software to safeguard privacy
28 October 2023
by Sarah Wray
The city of Amsterdam has developed new software that blurs people entirely in images to ensure they are not recognisable.
The tool named ‘blurring as a service’ has been added to the city’s algorithm register, which was launched in 2020 to explain how algorithms are used in public services.
A spokesperson for the City of Amsterdam told Cities Today: “Amsterdam residents should be able to move unseen through public spaces. Therefore, it is of great importance that we develop new applications and initiatives that further safeguard the privacy of residents and visitors.
“This right to privacy applies to the online and offline world. The City of Amsterdam wants to set an example by coming up with responsible technological solutions for municipal services. Protecting the digital rights of Amsterdam residents is an important area of focus.”
Whole-person blurring
Initially, the blurring software is being used on panoramic images collected by the city’s Mobile Mapping team. The images are collected every year and used for purposes such as inspecting roads and assessing accessibility for vehicles.
A statement from the city said: “It is often not necessary that people or licence plates are recognisable in the picture.”
The city already takes steps to anonymise people in images but the new software – developed by the computer vision team in the digitisation and innovation department – goes further by recognising and blurring the whole body as well as the face.
“Moreover, this is done in a more inclusive way: various personal characteristics such as age, gender and skin colour are recognised by the software and then made invisible,” the statement said.
The system can also blur vehicle licence plates.
Made in Amsterdam
In future, the blurring tool will be further trained so it can be used in other municipal services and to anonymise images sent in by residents reporting issues in public space.
The city’s spokesperson said: “Protecting the privacy of our citizens has our continuous attention and we see continued development as necessary to continue to meet all privacy, bias and transparency requirements.
“Therefore, the municipality has chosen to develop its own blur algorithm, so that the algorithm fits well with municipal practice and principles, such as privacy and ethics by design.”
The blurring as a service software code is available via GitHub.
