<p>I don't know whether it is forensically secure. I wouldn't assume it is, if you're blocking sensitive information. Better to match the colour of the background and place a solid colour block to hide your data.</p>
<p>See this from 2007 - even before using AI - this is about pixelation, but the principle is similar:</p>
<p><a href="https://dheera.net/posts/20140725-why-you-should-never-use-pixelation/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://dheera.net/posts/20140725-why-you-should-never-use-pixelation/</a></p>
<p>See this more recently on Photo Stack Exchange:</p>
<p><a href="https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/35097/is-it-possible-to-re-focus-recover-an-intentionally-blurred-image">https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/35097/is-it-possible-to-re-focus-recover-an-intentionally-blurred-image</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-18T08:28:54.600Z
2024-04-18T08:28:54.600Z
tomh
<p>I edit a lot of videos with Premiere Pro. I make a lot of tutorials about coding on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc... Some of my tutorials involve a step where I get an API key from a subscription service and incorporate the API into my code. I've been using gaussian blur to obscure my API keys. I create a rectangle shape for the blur and place it over the API key. I always delete the API key after editing the video but I still don't like the idea of my API key being out there. I never know if the company might be re-using the keys or something weird like that. I know it's highly unlikely, but none-the-less, is Premiere Pro's gaussian blur feature resistant to any known type of video recovery? This is where the feature is located:<br />
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/yQquy.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/yQquy.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>I also turn up the bur pretty high. In this example, I cranked the blurriness all the way up to 422:<br />
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/woAEA.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/woAEA.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>If my blurring method isn't forensically secure, is there another way to obfuscate sections of the video in a way that is forensically secure and can't be recovered?</p>

<adobe><effects><premiere-pro>
Is Premiere Pro's gaussian blur forensically secure?
ChristianOConnor
# Is Premiere Pro's gaussian blur forensically secure?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-04-17)

I edit a lot of videos with Premiere Pro. I make a lot of tutorials about coding on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc... Some of my tutorials involve a step where I get an API key from a subscription service and incorporate the API into my code. I've been using gaussian blur to obscure my API keys. I create a rectangle shape for the blur and place it over the API key. I always delete the API key after editing the video but I still don't like the idea of my API key being out there. I never know if the company might be re-using the keys or something weird like that. I know it's highly unlikely, but none-the-less, is Premiere Pro's gaussian blur feature resistant to any known type of video recovery? This is where the feature is located:  
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/yQquy.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/yQquy.png)

I also turn up the bur pretty high. In this example, I cranked the blurriness all the way up to 422:  
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/woAEA.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/woAEA.png)

If my blurring method isn't forensically secure, is there another way to obfuscate sections of the video in a way that is forensically secure and can't be recovered?

**Tags:** adobe, effects, premiere-pro


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-04-18. Score: 0 | Accepted answer

I don't know whether it is forensically secure. I wouldn't assume it is, if you're blocking sensitive information. Better to match the colour of the background and place a solid colour block to hide your data.

See this from 2007 - even before using AI - this is about pixelation, but the principle is similar:

<https://dheera.net/posts/20140725-why-you-should-never-use-pixelation/>

See this more recently on Photo Stack Exchange:

<https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/35097/is-it-possible-to-re-focus-recover-an-intentionally-blurred-image>


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