# Check the selected Axis pencil filter separately from its settings > Distinguish Axis pencil-filter settings from the selected active filter. Review the rendered result under an approved privacy requirement without claiming that a visual effect makes people anonymous. - Canonical URL: https://update.dsesecurity.com/updates/check-the-selected-axis-pencil-filter-separately-from-its-settings/ - Publisher: Detection Systems & Engineering (DSE Security) - Author: DSE Security Editorial Team - Published: 2026-10-29T20:33:23+00:00 - Modified: 2026-10-29T20:33:34+00:00 - Last reviewed by DSE: 2026-10-29 - Resource type: Guide - DSE priority: Advisory - Topics: Cybersecurity, Video Surveillance - Reading time: 3 minutes ## What you need to know Distinguish Axis pencil-filter settings from the selected active filter. Review the rendered result under an approved privacy requirement without claiming that a visual effect makes people anonymous. ## Potentially affected Axis products exposing the documented Pencil privacy filter interface; confirm actual device, hardware and software applicability before applying the proposed checks. ## DSE recommendation DSE recommends reviewing filter parameters and active selection separately, then assessing each required image path with authorized observers. ## Article Bottom line: Record both the settings and the selected filter before assessing the image. Verify the actual output against the owner’s requirement, and keep a successful configuration response separate from privacy acceptance. ## Source fact: documented behavior Axis’s [Pencil privacy filter](https://developer.axis.com/vapix/network-video/pencil-privacy-filter/) describes a monochrome pencil-image effect and exposes separate operations for filter settings, capabilities and selection. setFilterSettings changes the parameters of a filter type, while setSelectedFilter chooses which filter is active. The selection description says none deactivates the filter, and getSelectedFilter reports the current selection. ## What the source does not establish Do not infer anonymity, legal compliance or coverage of every image consumer from the API’s name. Confirm the actual supported filter and flags. Keep scene visibility, recording, exported images and the owner’s privacy requirement as separately observed acceptance questions. ## Applicability questions - Which device, filter type and supported flags are actually available? - What current settings and active selection does it report? - Which live, recorded or exported paths are within the approved requirement? - Who may inspect the test images and decide whether the result is acceptable? ## DSE recommendation: controlled next steps The following steps are DSE recommendations based on the cited source. DSE recommends reviewing filter parameters and active selection separately, then assessing each required image path with authorized observers. - Obtain the device’s actual capabilities, current settings and selected filter through the supported operations. Record those as separate fields. Ask the privacy and operational owners to define what the resulting image should reveal for the intended task, without replacing that requirement with an unsupported assertion that the filter removes identity. - Prepare an authorized scene using harmless objects or expressly permitted participants and controlled image access. Set only approved supported parameters, then explicitly inspect the selected-filter result. Do not treat stored settings for a filter type as the evidence that the intended effect is currently selected. - Observe each approved output path and compare it with the written requirement. Where recordings or exports are part of the scope, inspect those through the normal authorized workflow rather than relying on the live preview. Stop the acceptance if an unreviewed image remains accessible or the operational task cannot be performed, and restore the approved configuration through its supported process. ## Verification and evidence Retain the capability information, settings, selection readback and restricted observation record for each tested path. Have a reviewer identify which evidence establishes configuration and which establishes the owner’s image requirement. Avoid including identifiable test images in broadly shared tickets or configuration examples. Use a proposed desk case containing updated filter settings alongside a selection of none. Ask the reviewer to explain why those records cannot establish an active effect. Keep any privacy or legal assessment with the appropriate owner. This article reports no image test, privacy certification, anonymization result or observed recording behavior. ## Official references - [Pencil privacy filter](https://developer.axis.com/vapix/network-video/pencil-privacy-filter/) — Axis Communications; official VAPIX documentation. Source review completed October 29, 2026. Recheck the official documentation and the deployed device’s capabilities before changing production settings. ## Primary reference - Name: Axis Communications — Pencil privacy filter - Authority: Axis Communications - URL: https://developer.axis.com/vapix/network-video/pencil-privacy-filter/ - Source publication date: Not stated by the source ## Citation and use Preferred citation: “Check the selected Axis pencil filter separately from its settings,” DSE Security, https://update.dsesecurity.com/updates/check-the-selected-axis-pencil-filter-separately-from-its-settings/ Publishing principles: https://update.dsesecurity.com/updates/dse-updates-editorial-methodology/ Usage and citation policy: https://update.dsesecurity.com/usage/ Copyright © 2026 Detection Systems & Engineering. All rights reserved.