Automatic prohibition of personal information identification

A method of prohibiting personal information identification of a photographic subject including: digitally photographing the photographic subject to form a photo of the photographic subject, the photographic subject having an indicia incorporated in the photo indicating prohibiting personal information identification of the photographic subject, the indicia being invisible to the human eye; reading the indicia; responsive to reading the indicia, processing the indicia to make a determination when the indicia prohibits identification of personal information of the photographic subject; and disclosing on a social network system the photo and the personal information of the photographic subject according to the determination.

BACKGROUND

The present exemplary embodiments pertain to photographers taking pictures of others who may not want their picture taken and published. The exemplary embodiments further pertain to a method to automatically alter the faces of the others who don't want their picture taken when their photo is published such as on social network systems (SNS).

It may happen that a person is intentionally or accidentally photographed by a photographer without the person's permission. Such an incident may happen when the person is in a crowd and the person is photographed with everyone else in the crowd. Subsequently, this photograph may be published on SNS. There may be no way to stop the photographer from taking the picture but the person would still like to maintain their privacy.

After the fact, a SNS may agree to take down the photograph but there may be other copies of the photograph circulating on other SNSs. Accordingly, this would not be an effective solution

BRIEF SUMMARY

The various advantages and purposes of the exemplary embodiments as described above and hereafter are achieved by providing, according to an aspect of the exemplary embodiments, a method of prohibiting personal information identification of a photographic subject comprising: digitally photographing the photographic subject to form a photo of the photographic subject, the photographic subject having an indicia incorporated in the photo indicating prohibiting personal information identification of the photographic subject, the indicia being invisible to the human eye; reading the indicia; responsive to reading the indicia, processing the indicia to make a determination when the indicia prohibits identification of personal information of the photographic subject; and disclosing on a social network system the photo and the personal information of the photographic subject according to the determination.

According to another aspect of the exemplary embodiments, there is provided a method of disclosing a photo having an indicia indicating prohibiting personal information identification of the photographic subject comprising: storing the photo with the indicia incorporated in the photo on a social network system, the indicia regulating who can view the photo without alteration, wherein the indicia is invisible to the naked eye; requesting the photo by a user from the social network system; accessing a database to check if user has permission to view the photo; and when the user has permission, the user viewing the photo without alteration and when the user does not have permission, the user viewing the photo with alteration.

According to a further aspect of the exemplary embodiments, there is provided a computer program product for prohibiting personal information identification of a photographic subject, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, wherein the computer readable storage medium is not a transitory signal per se, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to perform a method comprising: digitally photographing the photographic subject to form a photo of the photographic subject, the photographic subject having an indicia incorporated in the photo indicating prohibiting personal information identification of the photographic subject, the indicia being invisible to the human eye; reading the indicia; responsive to reading the indicia, processing the indicia to make a determination when the indicia prohibits identification of personal information of the photographic subject; and disclosing on a social network system the photo and the personal information of the photographic subject according to the determination.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The exemplary embodiments pertain to a method using invisible ink material to protect the identification and facial information of a photographic subject, and a system to recognize and alter personal facial information before sharing photographs on the SNS.

Referring toFIG.1, there is an illustration of one exemplary embodiment. A photographer10having a smartphone12is taking a photograph (hereafter photo)18of a person14. The person14may be unaware that her photo18is being taken and, in any event, has not given permission for her photo18to be taken.

Unknown to the photographer10, the person14is wearing a device16having invisible indicia (not shown). As will be seen, the device16having the invisible indicia will protect the person's privacy by prohibiting the identification of the person14and prohibiting the publication of the unaltered face of the person14on an SNS.

The photo18of the person14may be uploaded to a computing system20. The invisible indicia is embedded in the photo18.

Subsequently, the photo18may be published by an SNS and is viewable on a smartphone22. However, when the photo18is published on the SNS, the invisible indicia prohibits the showing of the facial features of the person14so that the facial features of the person14are altered. In the photo18shown in the smartphone22, the person's face has been altered by forming a mask24over her face to at least partly hide her features.

While a mask24has been formed over the face of person14, the altering of the person's face may be by other methods such as blurring. Also, while the mask24is shown as just covering the eyes of the person14, the mask24may be modified to cover part of the face of the person14or even the entire face of the person14.

Hereafter, the person having his/her photo taken may be referred to as the “user” or the “photographic subject” and both terms may be used interchangeably.

As used herein, the SNS may be any social networking system in which photos may be posted. For the purpose of illustration and not limitation, nonlimiting examples of SNSs include Facebook®, YouTube®, WhatsApp®, Instagram®, Tik Tok®, Reddit®, Twitter®, Snapchat® and LinkedIn®.

FIGS.2to7illustrate several examples of the invisible indicia.FIG.2illustrates invisible ink26, shown in phantom, on a badge28. The invisible ink26preferably is entirely invisible to the human eye.

Many cameras and smartphones use a charged coupled device (CCD). The CCD reaction frequency band may be about 300˜800 nanometers (nm), while the human eye visible band is about 400˜700 nm. The near-infrared ink band is about 700˜2500 nm. Hence, in case of photos taken using CCDs, the invisible band image of 700˜800 nm could be embedded in the photos transferred to an SNS without being visible to the human eye. For the purpose of illustration and not limitation, a suitable ink for the invisible ink of the exemplary embodiments is an infrared ink such as an invisible ink comprising perimidine-based squarylium dyes available from Fuji Xerox.

Thus, when a photo is taken, the invisible indicia26is not seen by the human eye. However, the invisible indicia26may be read by the CCD as shown inFIG.3. When the invisible indicia26is processed by the SNS, the SNS understands that identification of the person and showing of the entire facial image of the person is prohibited, so upon receiving a request or command to share the digital image of the person, the person's face may be altered such as by masking or blurring.

The photos referenced herein are digital photos, also referred to as digital images. It should be understood that the use of the term “photos” encompasses digital photos and digital images.

The indicia may be any markings or letterings and may be embedded or stored in the photo as metadata in, for example, the Exchangeable Image File (EXIF) format. The indicia then may be read and processed by any device that is capable of reading the metadata such as in the EXIF format.

FIGS.4and5illustrate some articles that may have the invisible indicia. InFIG.4, there is illustrated a necktie30and a pair of glasses32in visible light (e.g., wavelength 400-700 nm).FIG.5illustrates the necktie30and pair of glasses32viewed through a near-infrared filter (e.g., 700-2500 nm). The invisible indicia36is shown on the necktie30and the invisible indicia38is shown on the lenses34of the pair of glasses32.

The invisible indicia may be marked on any article that could be photographed with a photographic subject's face. For example, some articles may include article decorations, ornaments, clothes (e.g., shirts, jackets, collars), badges, neckties, glasses, hairpins or broaches. Further, the invisible indicia may be placed directly on the photographic subject's face or body such as by a temporary tattoo, make up or any cosmetic product.

The invisible indicia may also be in a form different from lettering.FIG.6illustrates invisible indicia in the form of a bar code40whileFIG.7illustrates the invisible indicia in the form of a QR code42. The bar code40and QR code42inFIGS.6and7are shown as they would appear viewed through a near-infrared filter. In visible light, the bar code40and QR code42would not be seen by the human eye.

In one exemplary embodiment, the photographic subject may wear a physical article which may have an on/off mechanism to switch the invisible indicia on or off. For example, if the photographic subject does not care if the photo is uploaded to an SNS, the switch on the physical article may be in the off position so that any photo would show the photographic subject's face unaltered. Alternatively, if the photographic subject does care if the photo is uploaded to an SNS, the switch on the physical article may be in the on position so that any photo would show the photographic subject's face altered.

InFIGS.8and9, for the purpose of illustration and not limitation, the physical article is a pair of sunglasses44. Other articles would be considered to be within the scope of the exemplary embodiments. InFIG.8, the sunglasses44may be, for example, WiFi-enabled or Bluetooth® wireless technology-enabled, and the on/off mechanism may be operated remotely by, for example, a smartphone46. InFIG.9, the on/off mechanism of the sunglasses48may be enabled by pressing a switch50on the sunglasses48.

FIGS.10and11illustrate one mechanism for turning the invisible indicia on or off. InFIG.10, a shutter52on the sunglasses44,48is open to show or enable the invisible indicia. InFIG.11, the shutter52on the sunglasses44,48is closed to disable the invisible indicia.

One exemplary embodiment of a method of prohibiting personal information identification of a photographic subject is illustrated inFIG.12. The photographic subject, or user, may wear an invisible indicia, box54. The invisible indicia may be any of the invisible indicia described previously and may be on an article or directly on the photographic subject's face.

The user may see a person photographing the user without the user's permission, box56. This is optional, as indicated by the dashed lines. The method is functional even if the user does not see the person photographing the user.

The taken photo having the embedded invisible indicia is read, box58, and then processed, box60. The read step is to translate the invisible indicia into a form that a computing device can understand. For example, if the invisible indicia is in the form of metadata in the format of EXIF, the device that reads the invisible indicia should be able to read EXIF. The process step is to understand what the invisible indicia says and thereafter make a determination when the invisible indicia prohibits identification of personal information of the photographic subject. When the invisible indicia is in the form of metadata in the format of EXIF, the processing device should be able to understand that the metadata read from EXIF means, for example, that the subject person identified in the EXIF prohibits his/her face being shown. This would include prohibiting the displaying of the user's face without alteration. While the read step and process step are listed as separate steps, it is within the scope of the exemplary embodiments to combine the read and process steps into one step by one device.

Thereafter, the photo with the metadata/invisible indica is uploaded to a server. Either the camera or computing device may upload the photo to the server.

With the advancement in electronics, the camera, computing device and server may be combined in one device such as the camera. The computing device may be, for example, a tablet, such as an iPad, in which case the computing device may perform all functions of the camera, computing device and server. The camera and computing device may be combined in, for example, a tablet and then there may be a separate server. It is also within the scope of the exemplary embodiments for each of the camera, computing device and server to be separate devices.

The reading and processing steps may be accomplished in different ways. If the photographer has a smartphone or a digital camera, the invisible indicia may be read by the smartphone or camera and also processed by the smartphone or camera. The photographer's smartphone or camera may not have the application to read and process the invisible indicia, or the photographer may simply choose to not use the smartphone or camera for that purpose. In the latter case, the photo with the embedded invisible indicia may be uploaded to a computing device and read and processed there.

Thereafter, the photo with the metadata/invisible indicia is uploaded to a server, box62. Either the camera or computing device may upload the photo to the server.

When the photo is uploaded to the server, certain data may be appended to the invisible indicia, box64. This data may include, for example, the identification of the owner of the photo which is usually the photographer, and the date and place of the photo.

The server66is illustrated inFIG.12. The server66may have a database68for, among other things, storing the uploaded photo with the invisible indicia70as well as an altered photo72when the photo is requested for disclosing on the SNS.

A request may be made to disclose the photo70, box74. If the request is to disclose the photo70on the SNS, the “YES” path is followed and the request is processed by the server66. The server66may retrieve the invisible indicia from the original photo in database68in order to identify the photographic subject (user) of the photo who may need the face altered. The user's face may be altered to result in the altered photo72in database68. As noted before, the altering of the user's face may be by, for example, masking or blurring. Lastly, the SNS disclose date and identification of the requestor may be appended to the altered photo72.

Thereafter, the altered photo72may be shared on the SNS, box76.

It should be understood that the foregoing process may be automatic in that when the user wears the invisible indicia, any photo taken of the user will, automatically and without input from the user, include the prohibition of the identification of the user and the prohibition against showing the user's face unaltered when the photo is uploaded to an SNS.

If there is no request to disclose the photo on the SNS, the “NO” path may be followed and the process may end, box78. It is also within the scope of the exemplary embodiments to download the unaltered photo70to the user's community if the user wishes to share the photo with friends, family, etc. Even if the unaltered photo70is downloaded to the user's community, the invisible indicia would still be appended to the unaltered photo so that if the unaltered photo70is attempted to be uploaded to an SNS, the prohibition against identification of the user and showing the user's face unaltered would still apply.

Referring now toFIG.13, there is one exemplary embodiment in which a third person would like to download and utilize the altered photo72. The third person is to utilize the altered photo72without permission of the user, box80.

Will the third person copy the photo to edit and disclose on the SNS, box82? If the answer is no, the “NO” path is followed, then the third person just uploads the altered photo72to the server66directly without editing. This accounts for the situation where a third person may get access to the altered photo72and uploads using their username.

If the answer is yes, the “YES” path is followed. The altered photo72is to be edited, box84. The third party accesses the altered photo72, or perhaps even a previous edited photo. The photo may be edited to edit details of the photo but the previous prohibitions to not identify the user and to not show the user's face still apply. The edited photo86is appended with the profile of the editor, the date and place of editing and the date the photo will be disclosed on the SNS and uploaded to the server66and stored in database68.

The edited photo may then be shared on the SNS, box88. Again, the previous prohibitions to not identify the user and to not show the user's face still apply.

Referring back toFIGS.8to11, the invisible indicia may be turned on or off.FIG.14illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a method for utilizing a device in which the invisible indicia may be turned on or off.

The user wears the invisible indicia device that may be turned on or off, box90.

The user sees a photographer taking a photo, or may be about to take a photo, of the user, box92.

The user decides whether to disable the invisible indicia, box94. If the answer is no, the “NO” path is followed and the user's face in the photo will be altered, box96, if the photographer takes the photo.

If the user decides to disable the invisible indicia, the “YES” path is followed. The user disables the invisible indicia device, box98.

The invisible indicia is covered, box100, for example by the shutter illustrated inFIGS.10and11.

Thereafter, when the photographer takes the photo, the user's face is not altered, box102.

The process described with respect toFIG.14assumes that the user does not want his/her photo taken unless the user agrees. In this context, the invisible indicia will always be enabled. It is within the scope of the exemplary embodiments that the user may be in an environment in which the user may want his/her photo taken and shared on the SNS. In this case, the invisible indicia device will be disabled such that a photo of the user will show the user's face unaltered. However, the user will always have the option to enable the invisible indicia device should the user desire to protect her identity.

Another exemplary embodiment pertains to a system of prohibiting personal information identification of a photographic subject. The system may include a non-transitory storage medium that stores instructions and at least one processor that executes the instructions to:form a photo of a photographic subject, the photographic subject having an indicia incorporated in the photo indicating prohibiting personal information identification of the photographic subject, the indicia being invisible to the human eye;read the indicia;process the indicia to make a determination when the indicia prohibits identification of personal information of the photographic subject; anddisclose on a social network system the photo and the personal information of the photographic subject according to the determination.