Release notes July 2023

Here are the release notes for Identity Cloak version 5.5.0.

The standalone version is now 5.5.0

This new release has several user enhancements and improved performance for a better user experience and efficiency.

What’s changed:

  • Changes to auto-tracking.
  • Changes to the track list on the right-hand sidebar.
  • Tracking sensitivity.
  • Increased processing and playback speed.

Changes to auto-tracking

We have made changes to the redaction tracking screen because some users have been experiencing a blurred halo around the head of the person they are keeping in the clear.

When you first land on the redaction tracking screen, you will find blue circles over the heads of individuals in your track. This circle will be solid on the auto-redaction (default) and full-screen blur when in the inverse mode the blue circles will be an outline, but they will work in the same way. To track someone, you will need to select the circle of the person you wish to track. Once the track has finished you can still review the track using your hotkeys before clicking save. When you have clicked save on your track Identity Cloak will automatically show the circles on your screen, if you wish to track another individual, scroll your timeline to the point they appear and select the circle in the same way as you did for the first person.

This change saves you from having to tick the checkbox for auto-tracking as well as new, thus creating a more efficient working experience for you.

Note: if you wish to carry out some manual redaction, you will need to click Clear and untick the checkbox for auto-tracking before selecting either circle or rectangle at the top of the right-hand sidebar.

Changes to the tracklist on the right-hand sidebar

The option to delete tracks and to blur a track has been moved, previously they were above the tracklist. They are now within the track list itself. The delete button is now listed next to each track within the track list, this saves you from having to tick the checkbox and then clicking delete.

The option to blur a track has also been moved into the tracklist, this is generally used when doing manual redactions. When in auto-redaction (the default) mode and full-screen mode the blur checkbox will automatically be unticked, and on the inverse blur, it will automatically be ticked. When using the manual redaction in the auto-redaction mode you will need to tick the checkbox to blur the area you wish to redact after creating the track.

Tracking sensitivity

Some users were experiencing the auto-tracking switching to a different person when people crossed paths, especially in busy situations. This issue has been resolved, by allowing users to decide how sensitive they would like the tracking to be, the higher the sensitivity the more stopping your video will do when people cross paths, for the user to then click on the correct person to continue to track. Thus, preventing the tracking to switch to the wrong person. The lower the sensitivity is set the less stopping of the video when people cross, however, you may run the risk of the auto-tracking switching to a different person if they cross paths.

Users will find the tracking sensitivity slider within the right-hand sidebar on the redaction tracking screen. Click on the blue dot on the slider and move the dot to the right to increase the sensitivity and to the left to decrease the sensitivity.

Please note the sensitivity level will stay at the same level as you previously selected when you import a new video. You may find you wish to change the sensitivity each time you redact a new video due to the different situations that are happening within your clip.

Increased processing and playback speed

Users will experience quicker processing when playing back a video within the review screen as well as exporting their video. Users will also find once they have played the video once, the next time they go to play the video it will load more quickly as well as exporting even quicker than before.