YouTube expands AI deepfake detection to all adult users
· Mia Sato
YouTube is rolling out its AI likeness detection feature to all users 18 and older. That means pretty much anyone can now ask the platform to scan for deepfakes of their own face.
YouTube is rolling out its AI likeness detection feature to all users 18 and older. That means pretty much anyone can now ask the platform to scan for deepfakes of their own face. The tool uses a selfie style scan to monitor YouTube for lookalikes. If it finds a match, you get an alert. From there, you can request that YouTube remove the content.
The company started testing this with creators, then expanded to government officials, politicians, and journalists. Now it is open to the general adult audience. YouTube has said that the number of removal requests it has actually received has been “very small.” That might sound reassuring, but it also suggests the tool is still finding its footing. People might not know it exists or trust it yet.
The feature is clearly aimed at fighting deepfake abuse, which has become a major concern as generative AI gets better at mimicking real faces and voices. But the selfie scan requirement raises obvious privacy questions. You have to hand over a biometric scan of your own face to catch fakes. That is a trade off some people might not want to make.
Still, this is a meaningful step. Most social platforms have been slow to give everyday users any real power to fight AI generated impersonation. YouTube now offers a direct, if imperfect, way to push back. The real test will be whether people actually use it and whether the platform follows through on takedowns when they do.