The Silhouette Challenge has completely taken over the internet and every other social media platform – TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram is being filled with red filters and beautiful black silhouettes.
However, people have started to grow concern about the trend after rumours started on Twitter about how people could remove the red filter from the silhouette videos.
This, in most cases, would reveal a nude or undressed figure, as many Silhouette Challenge videos are filmed in that nature.
Here’s an explanation of the how the filter works and why you don’t need to be as concerned as others are making out.
Can the red filter be removed from TikTok videos?
In short, no. Once you have made and posted the video, it would be impossible to completely impossible to remove the red filter. Your video is uploaded and exported as a file the moment it hits TikTok, meaning people can not remove any of the filters in place.
If, however, you are the owner of the video then this is different. You can remove the filter from your video if you have the original file in PSD format, with all of the layers saved. Then, all you would have to do is remove the red filter layer.
But once you are done with all the editing and post it on social media, all the information of the changes you have made to the video are discarded.
This is because the file would be too big to be posted with all the information on it so once you have posted the video on social media, nobody can completely remove the red filter no matter how good they are at video editing or which video editing app they have.
So in short: as long as go sending the original video of your Silhouette Challenge to people then no-one can remove the red filter.
So what are people worried about?
What is possible to do, is for someone to take your video and “inverse” the colour cast with other colours. This would make your video a little different in colour than the original, but that’s about it.
People could lighten and apply other filters to your original video in creepy attempts to see more of your body outline, but there is no way to completely remove the filter.
Concerns started from Reddit threads titled Silhouette Challenge xxx and r/silhouetteunfiltered as nude Silhouette Challenge videos were rumoured to be posted on the threads before they were shut down. However, these videos were likely just posted nude in the first place, as you can not created an ‘Unfiltered Silhouette Challenge’ by removing the red filter.
The only way to post an Unfiltered Silhouette Challenge is to do it without a filter in the first place!
What can we do about this?
If you intend to do the Silhouette Challenge and are worried about the red filter being removed, you can rest easy.
But it doesn’t hurt to take a few precautions. Make sure not to take the video fully naked and opt for wearing body-fitting clothes instead.
