Do Not DeepFake Me: Privacy-Preserving Neural 3D Head Reconstruction Without Sensitive Images

TL;DR

This paper introduces a privacy-preserving 3D head reconstruction method that avoids using sensitive facial images, relying instead on non-sensitive rear-head images and gradient data, maintaining accuracy while enhancing privacy.

Contribution

The proposed two-stage method reconstructs detailed 3D head geometry without exposing facial images, reducing privacy risks compared to existing neural approaches.

Findings

Geometry comparable to full-image methods

Resistant to DeepFake manipulations

Effective against facial recognition systems

Abstract

While 3D head reconstruction is widely used for modeling, existing neural reconstruction approaches rely on high-resolution multi-view images, posing notable privacy issues. Individuals are particularly sensitive to facial features, and facial image leakage can lead to many malicious activities, such as unauthorized tracking and deepfake. In contrast, geometric data is less susceptible to misuse due to its complex processing requirements, and absence of facial texture features. In this paper, we propose a novel two-stage 3D facial reconstruction method aimed at avoiding exposure to sensitive facial information while preserving detailed geometric accuracy. Our approach first uses non-sensitive rear-head images for initial geometry and then refines this geometry using processed privacy-removed gradient images. Extensive experiments show that the resulting geometry is comparable to methods using full images, while the process is resistant to DeepFake applications and facial recognition (FR) systems, thereby proving its effectiveness in privacy protection.