It’s important for viewers to trust what they see on YouTube. That's why you’ll find the "Captured with a camera" disclosure in the “How this content was made” section in the expanded description of some videos. It signifies that the creator used specific technology to verify their video's origin and confirm its audio and visuals haven’t been altered. This, along with our policy on altered and synthetic content, is part of YouTube’s efforts to increase transparency.
How it works
- Verification technology: To get this additional disclosure, creators must use specific technology (certain cameras, software, or mobile apps) that attaches secure metadata to the piece of content. This metadata verifies the video's origin and whether or not its audio and visuals have been altered.
- C2PA standards: This technology is based on an open standard for content origin and authenticity developed by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA). This standard allows users ways to understand the authenticity and origin of different types of media like images, videos, and audio.
How to get ‘Captured with a camera’ disclosure
For “captured with a camera” to appear in the expanded description, creators must use tools with built-in C2PA support (version 2.1 or higher) to capture their videos. This allows the tools to add special information, metadata, to the video file, confirming its authenticity. YouTube will relay the information that the content was “Captured with a camera,” and apply the disclosure when it detects this metadata. The content must also not have edits to sound or visuals. This disclosure indicates that the content was captured using a camera or other recording device with no edits to sounds or visuals.
What edits to avoid
To ensure the “Captured with a camera” can be applied, avoid these types of edits:
- Edits that break the chain of provenance, or make it impossible to trace the video back to its original source. For example, if you capture an image with C2PA metadata and then save it to your phone's photo album that doesn’t support C2PA v2.1 or higher, that may break the chain of provenance.
- Significant alterations to the video's core nature or content, including its sounds or visuals.
- Edits that make the video incompatible with C2PA standards (version 2.1 and above).
Limitations
“Captured with a camera” only appears if a creator opts to use C2PA technology during filming. If it’s missing, it doesn’t mean the content has modified audio or visuals.
The metadata that leads to a “Captured with a camera” disclosure is made by a 3rd party (for example, a camera manufacturer). This means there is some risk that someone could take a photo of another screen showing synthetic content. Because the other screen shows an image that has been modified, it wouldn’t be eligible for the “Captured with a camera” disclosure. This issue is called “air-gapping.” Camera manufacturers will continue to develop detection measures to prevent “air-gapping,” but the sophistication of those detection measures may vary in the near term.