How should a business handle privacy when a computer vision system sees people?

---
title: "How to Handle Privacy in Computer Vision Projects"
description: "Design the system so it answers the question without identifying anyone. Count or detect objects and spaces rather than recognising faces, blur or discard people where they are not needed, keep footage only as long as the purpose requires, and limit who can see it. Tell people where cameras are used, and check the rules that apply where you operate before starting."
url: https://lidvizion.ai/answers/how-to-handle-privacy-in-computer-vision-projects/
site: Lid Vizion
index: https://lidvizion.ai/llms.txt
---

[Direct answers](https://lidvizion.ai/answers/)

# How should a business handle privacy when a computer vision system sees people?

Design the system so it answers the question without identifying anyone. Count or detect objects and spaces rather than recognising faces, blur or discard people where they are not needed, keep footage only as long as the purpose requires, and limit who can see it. Tell people where cameras are used, and check the rules that apply where you operate before starting.

## What this means in practice

- Write down the purpose and collect only what that purpose needs.
- Prefer counting, presence and object detection over identifying individuals.
- Blur, crop or discard people in footage that is stored or used for training.
- Set retention limits, restrict access and log who views footage.

## How Lid Vizion approaches it

We start with the business decision and operating context, define ownership and measurable milestones, then use configuration, integrations, automation, or custom software only where each earns its place.

## See it as a workflow

- [Field inspection photo reports](https://lidvizion.ai/use-cases/field-inspection-photo-reports/): Turn the photos and notes field crews capture on site into an organized inspection report, with possible issues flagged for a qualified person to confirm.

## More on Computer vision

- [How long does a computer vision project take, and what decides it?](https://lidvizion.ai/answers/what-sets-the-timeline-of-a-computer-vision-project/)
- [How can a property manager or landlord use computer vision to compare move-in and move-out photos and document changes fairly?](https://lidvizion.ai/answers/how-to-compare-move-in-and-move-out-photos-with-computer-vision/)
- [How can a website, store or publisher use AI to write alt text for large image libraries without hurting accessibility?](https://lidvizion.ai/answers/how-to-write-image-alt-text-with-ai/)

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## Have a version of this question inside your company?

Bring the decision, the constraints, and what a good outcome looks like.

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