Why You Should Keep an Untouched Original and a Redacted Copy

The redacted copy is ready. Someone asks for “the video,” and a teammate sends the original from the same folder.

That is a file-handling failure, not a face-detection failure. A good masking job needs a delivery process that makes the wrong file difficult to choose.

Keeping an original can be useful for future edits, verification, or a required records process. It also means you still hold an identifying recording. Keep it only when there is a reason, with access and retention appropriate to that reason.

Give each version a clear role

For a small project, three locations are often enough:

• Source: the untouched recording, accessible only to people who need it.
• Working: edits, review exports, and any correction notes.
• Delivery: only the exact files approved for their named audience.

These can be separate folders with suitable permissions; they do not need a complex asset-management system. Avoid putting a public sharing link on a parent folder that contains all three.

Use filenames that explain the audience and revision. “event-public-v03.mp4” is clearer than “final-final-new.mp4.” Avoid putting a protected person's name in the filename.

Make review refer to a specific export

“Looks good” in a chat is ambiguous after another edit.

A useful approval note might say: “Reviewed event-public-v03.mp4, 00:42 duration. Public social clip. Faces, audio, opening frame, and cover checked.” Add the reviewer and date where your process requires them.

If someone changes the crop, restores a shot, adds captions, or exports a different version, that new file needs review. A shorter edit can still introduce an unredacted thumbnail or a name in a title card.

For more formal handling, follow your organization's records procedures. This folder approach does not establish an evidence chain or replace a required preservation process.

Deliver the export, not the editing workspace

An editing project may reveal source paths, proxy files, or media that the rendered video hides. A cloud collaboration link may let recipients browse older versions. A messaging app may attach a previous download with a nearly identical name.

Open the delivery location as the recipient would. Confirm that the reviewed file is there, that unredacted alternatives are not available, and that the permissions match the intended audience.

When possible, have the person uploading use the delivery folder rather than search a downloads directory.

Decide what happens after delivery

Do not keep originals indefinitely just because storage is available. Record who is responsible for them and when their continued retention will be reviewed. Conversely, do not delete material you are required to preserve merely because a public edit exists.

Unseen can produce a masked copy. It cannot organize every copy on your camera, laptop, shared drive, or recipient's device. Treat those as part of the project, not as something the export button has resolved.