YouTube is launching a new tool that lets people blur out any object

YouTube is launching a custom blurring tool today that will let filmmakers blur out any object in their videos. The video platform has offered a face-blurring tool since 2012, but the revamped desktop tool now works on items that move, too, and it keeps them blurred as they travel around the video.

Once users have drawn a box around the item they want to blur, they can resize the area and also lock it in place when the object is stationary. The edited video can be saved along with an original version. YouTube imagines people will use the tool to protect sensitive information, like license plate or credit card numbers, and to protect people's identities in compromising interviews or situations.