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Server based Privacy Mask

Server based Privacy Mask

Configuration Article | CA-20240209-MF-04

VDG Sense | Setup | Devices | Privacy Mask

Server based Privacy Mask

This feature was introduced in VDG Sense 2.7.3

The server based Privacy Mask feature allows the user to configure up to 64 privacy zones blended as overlay into the camera video stream.

To enable the Privacy Mask check the ‘Enabled’ checkbox in the upper right corner. Once enabled, the buttons to create and remove the zones will become visible on the left side of the screen. When enabling the privacy mask for the first time, automatically the first zone will be added.

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Use ‘Enable’ to turn the feature on or off

For server side privacy mask, you can use the ‘Preview privacy mask’ checkbox to see the effects of the privacy zone in the video.

If the camera supports camera based privacy masks as well, then a dropdown list will be shown here where you can choose between camera based and server based privacy masks. If camera based is selected, there will be no possibility for an admin user to lift the privacy mask.

Possible blurring types:

  • Opaque color

  • Pixelized

  • Haze

For both Pixelized and Haze a amount of blurriness can be increased or reduced by moving the ‘Radius’ slider.

image-20240304-155226.png

Privacy mask configuration

image-20240304-160134.png

  • Moving masks
    Use the image-20240304-161324.png icon to move zones located on the video image

  • Adding masks
    Shapes can be created by clicking on the zone image-20240304-160258.png button.

  • Modifying masks
    Additional anchors can be created by double clicking on the yellow line. Anchors can be removed by double clicking on them. This way a unique custommade mask can be created.

  • Copying masks
    Use the image-20240304-161455.png icon to copy an existing mask.

  • Removing masks
    1. Select the mask you wish to remove
    2. Click the Trashcan image-20240304-161630.png icon in the toolbar

Sense users with Administrator privilege will never see the configured privacy mask(s).

Macro action to enable / disable privacy mask zones

Additionally, the configured privacy mask zones can be enabled / disabled via Viewer macro action. For this, you can use macro action:

Device → {Location} → {DeviceName} → Enable privacy mask → {Zone} → True / False

See example below.

image-20260420-145652.png

“Lift privacy mask”-function (User Management)

For some cases it can be necessary that non-Administrator users also do not want to see the privacy mask(s). This is possible by adding the “Lift privacy mask”-function to the User group via the “User Management” → “Functions” tab.

When the “Lift privacy mask”-function is added to the User group all users within that User group will NOT see the privacy mask(s). Even if the user is a non-Administrator user.

This also applies when the video stream is requested via RTSP or HTTPS API (Webclient & mobile app).

Privacy mask icw RTSP video streaming

If “Privacy Mask” is enabled and the video stream is requested via RTSP, Sense will send a transcoded MJPEG stream with the privacy mask(s) blended into the video.

Only when the RTSP stream is requested by an Administrator user or a non-Administrator user with the “Lift privacy mask”-function, Sense will send the stream in native format (e.g. H.264 or H.265).

So please be aware of this. Video transcoding requires significant server CPU resources. To prevent server overload, care must be taken for the maximum number of simultaneous RTSP client connections that request transcoded video stream.