Anyone who wishes can now fight their own deepfakes on YouTube.

YouTube opens deepfake search for all users over 18 years old

YouTube has expanded its system for detecting artificially created videos and now allows almost all platform users to run a search for potential deepfakes, including those using their own face.

How it works1. Selfie – the user takes a photo of their face.

2. The system scans the image and looks for matches in YouTube video content.

3. When a similarity is found, the user receives a notification and can request the video be removed.

YouTube notes that the number of such requests “is very small.”

Who has access to the feature
- Initially the search was limited only to vloggers.
- Then it was opened to officials, politicians, journalists, and entertainment industry representatives.
- Now any user over 18 years old can use this capability.

How requests are processed
YouTube considers several criteria:
* Realism of the material.
* Presence of an “AI created” label.
* Ability to unambiguously identify a person.

The system responds only to facial similarity, not voice or other traits. Exceptions include satirical and parody projects.

A user can opt out of the program at any time – YouTube will delete all their data.

> “We want to show that regardless of how long a user has been publishing content on the platform, they always have the same level of protection,” said a YouTube spokesperson.