Milestone XProtect Video Anonymization uses AI-powered anonymisation technology from brighter AI to protect personally identifiable information contained within security video. Integrated directly into XProtect Smart Client, the solution automatically detects and blurs faces and vehicle number plates during video export, helping organisations share footage for investigations, evidence handling and operational purposes while reducing the manual work traditionally associated with redaction.
The technology follows Milestone Systems’ acquisition of brighter AI in 2025, bringing the company’s privacy-focused computer vision technology into the wider Milestone video ecosystem. Rather than requiring operators to export footage into a separate editing application, Video Anonymization is incorporated into the existing XProtect export workflow.
Automated anonymisation within XProtect
Operators begin by selecting the footage required within XProtect Smart Client and choosing whether faces, number plates or both should be anonymised. The footage is then processed by brighter AI’s deep-learning engine, which detects the relevant identifiers across successive frames and applies automatic blurring before returning a file ready for use.
This significantly changes a task that can otherwise involve manually locating and masking individuals frame by frame. For organisations handling large quantities of evidential or operational video, automated detection can reduce processing time while creating a more consistent redaction workflow.
The integration is also designed to support existing security operations. Users continue working through familiar XProtect tools rather than learning a separate anonymisation platform, while the process can form part of repeatable procedures for handling and releasing footage.
Privacy protection for video-led organisations
Video anonymisation has become increasingly important as cameras are deployed across public spaces, transport, retail, critical infrastructure, workplaces and law enforcement environments. Footage may contain information relating to people who are not directly relevant to an incident, making controlled disclosure an important element of responsible video management.
XProtect Video Anonymization provides both cloud and on-premise deployment options, allowing organisations to select an architecture appropriate to their operational and data-governance requirements. The on-premise option is particularly relevant where sensitive footage must remain within an organisation’s controlled environment.
brighter AI’s broader anonymisation technology has been developed around privacy-compliant processing of image and video data and supports use cases where data utility needs to be preserved without unnecessarily exposing personal identities.
By integrating automated face and number plate anonymisation directly into an established VMS workflow, Milestone turns AI into a practical privacy-management tool. The solution demonstrates how artificial intelligence can support not only security detection and investigation, but also the responsible handling and sharing of the video those systems generate.
