How to blur faces and objects in a YouTube video

Your YouTube video shows a face or a detail on a screen that you want to hide. You can blur that area in YouTube Studio. This guide helps you choose face blur or a custom area, adjust its timing, and check that it covers the detail for the part of the video you need.

Work on a computer and keep a copy of the original: YouTube says you cannot use “Revert to original” to undo saved Editor changes since June 2025. (YouTube Help: Blur your videos)

Check the save limits

Open the video in Studio on a computer. For an unedited video with more than 100,000 views, YouTube may not let you save changes other than face blur. This restriction does not apply to channels in the YouTube Partner Program. The blur controls and save limit are documented in YouTube’s blur instructions.

Blur detected faces

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio with the channel that manages the video.
2. Open Content, choose the video, then select Editor from the left menu.
3. In the video editor, select Blur, then Face blur. Wait for processing to finish.
4. Select the faces you want to blur, then click Apply. Drag the box to adjust the blur.
5. Preview the affected part of the video. Save only after checking that the right face is covered and keeping a copy of the source file.

Blur an object or a selected area

1. In Editor, select Blur, then Custom blur.
2. Drag the box over the area you want hidden. You can move or resize it, choose an oval or rectangle, and set when it starts and ends on the timeline.
3. Select Track object if you want the blur to move with an object, or Fix blur position to keep it in place. You can add more boxes for other areas.
4. Preview the result, then save if it covers the intended area throughout the selected time.

After saving and allowing the change to apply, open the published video and play the entire affected interval. Check its edges too, as the face or object enters and leaves the frame. If face detection misses the face, try a custom blur and adjust its area and timing before saving.

YouTube documents face selection, custom boxes, timing, tracking, and fixed positioning in its blur help page. Review the video yourself; tracking and face selection do not guarantee that every frame or detail is covered. If you need to remove footage instead, use the YouTube video trim guide. For a text change, see how to fix YouTube captions.

To save a copy before editing, see how to download your own videos from YouTube Studio, including its download and resolution limits.