CCTV footage provides valuable evidence following an incident. It may also be requested by an individual exercising their data access rights. However, footage rarely contains information relating only to the person making the request.

Other people, vehicle registration plates, house numbers and additional identifying details may also appear. Before footage is shared, as a business owner you must consider the privacy and data protection rights of everyone captured in it.

Protecting the Privacy of Other People

When someone requests CCTV footage containing their image this does not automatically give them the right to view personal information relating to everyone else in the recording. Those ‘by standers’ also have rights that need to be protected.

Employees, customers, visitors and members of the public may all be identifiable from their faces, clothing, movements or location. Redaction can obscure these individuals while keeping the relevant person or incident visible.

Vehicle Registrations Can Identify Individuals

A vehicle registration number may be linked to an identifiable person and should not be shared unnecessarily. This is particularly important when footage has been recorded in a car park, residential development, retail setting or on a public road.

Professional redaction can track and obscure a registration plate as a vehicle moves through the footage. This requires accuracy and consistency, particularly when the plate appears at different angles or under changing lighting conditions.

Property Details May Also Reveal Personal Information

House numbers, apartment numbers, business signage and addresses can provide information about where someone lives, works or regularly visits. Combined with other details in the footage, they could make an individual identifiable.

These elements may need to be redacted if they are not relevant to the request or if sharing them could compromise another person’s privacy.

Redaction Requires More Than Basic Blurring

CCTV redaction can be complex. People and vehicles move across the screen, disappear behind objects and reappear later. Footage may also come from several cameras or contain poor lighting and crowded scenes.

A blurred area that fails to follow its subject throughout the recording could expose personal information. The redaction must also be applied securely so that the concealed information cannot be recovered by the recipient.

Use a Professional Redaction Service

Professional redaction combines specialist technology with careful human review. This helps ensure that all relevant faces, registration plates and property details are identified and consistently obscured while preserving the usefulness of the footage.

Datascan Redaction Services provides secure, professionally reviewed CCTV redaction. By working with an experienced, ISO 27001-certified provider, organisations can respond to requests more confidently while protecting personal information and supporting their GDPR responsibilities.  Speak to our friendly expert team today to find out more.