Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- YouTube is expanding its AI likeness detection tool to everyone over 18 in the coming weeks.
- The feature scans YouTube for AI-generated videos or deepfakes that appear to use your facial likeness and lets you request removals.
- YouTube will consider virtually any eligible user as a creator, meaning the tool will be available to almost everyone on the platform.
YouTube is expanding its AI likeness detection feature beyond select creators and public figures. The platform will open the tool to all eligible users over 18 in the coming weeks.
In an announcement post on its creator forum, YouTube noted that the feature is designed to help users detect and manage AI-generated videos that depict their faces without permission. The tool will be available in YouTube Studio and uses a one-time facial verification process to identify “altered or synthetic” uses of a person’s likeness across YouTube. This process requires you to upload your government ID and record a brief selfie video.
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Once enrolled, users can see where their face may have appeared in AI-generated videos and request the removal of content that violates YouTube’s privacy guidelines. YouTube says the system is meant to help prevent viewers from being misled by deepfakes pretending to feature real people.
This expansion comes after AI likeness detection was previously rolled out for journalists, politicians, government officials, and entertainment figures. According to a statement given to The Verge, there are effectively no strict requirements for what counts as a “creator” eligible to use the tool.
“With this expansion, we’re making clear that whether creators have been uploading to YouTube for a decade or are just starting, they’ll have access to the same level of protection,” YouTube spokesperson Jack Malon told the publication.
The feature currently only covers facial likenesses, not AI-generated voice clones. YouTube says takedown requests will still be reviewed under its privacy policies. Users who opt into likeness detection can also leave the program later and request deletion of their facial data.
How to use YouTube’s AI likeness detection feature?
YouTube notes that AI likeness detection will roll out to all users 18 and above “gradually over the next few weeks.” Once it is available, you’ll be able to use it by following these steps in YouTube Studio from your computer:
- From the left menu, select Content detection > Likeness > Start now.
- Give YouTube permission to use likeness detection technology.
- Take a few minutes to complete a one-time verification process.
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