PhotoDNA Integration Overview

Overview

Microsoft’s PhotoDNA is an industry-standard technology used to detect and prevent the distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). Persona’s integration with PhotoDNA allows customers to automatically screen uploaded images, flag potential CSAM, and report actionable findings to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

By embedding PhotoDNA checks directly into Persona workflows, organizations, especially those in regulated industries such as gaming, marketplaces, and social platforms, can meet compliance requirements and proactively protect users from harmful content.

Benefits

Automated Safety Screening: Automatically detect potential CSAM in images uploaded through Persona’s verification or onboarding flows.

Regulatory Compliance: Meet industry-specific content safety and reporting obligations.

Real-Time Alerts: Surface PhotoDNA match results instantly within your Persona Case or Account review to accelerate decision-making.

Integrated Reporting: Streamline the process of escalating CSAM findings to NCMEC when required.

Integration Features

Persona’s PhotoDNA integration provides powerful image-screening capabilities that plug directly into your existing workflows. Key capabilities include:

PhotoDNA Match Lookup: Submit image URLs for hashing and comparison against PhotoDNA’s database of known CSAM signatures.

Automated Risk Flagging: Automatically populate match results into Persona Cases or Accounts to support evidence gathering and escalation.

Dynamic Workflow Decisions: Trigger additional steps, such as manual review, case escalation, or account blocking, based on PhotoDNA match results.

Setting up the PhotoDNA Integration

Prerequisites

Before setting up the PhotoDNA integration, ensure you have:

• Admin access to your PhotoDNA API endpoint.
• Necessary API credentials to authenticate with Microsoft PhotoDNA.

Enabling PhotoDNA in Persona

1. Once enabled, navigate in the Persona Dashboard to Integrations > Marketplace and select PhotoDNA.
2. Click Add Credential.
3. Enter a credential nickname and provide the required PhotoDNA API details.
4. Save your credential to complete the setup.

Using the PhotoDNA Integration in a Workflow

1. Create a new workflow or open an existing one.
2. Add a new Action Step → Integrations.
3. Select the PhotoDNA integration and choose the Match Lookup operation.
4. Configure the input fields to pass in the correct information.
5. Save and publish the workflow.

PhotoDNA Operations Overview

Persona can screen images for potential CSAM by submitting them to Microsoft’s PhotoDNA API. These actions enable automated content safety checks directly within Persona workflows, helping Trust & Safety teams detect harmful material without relying on manual review.

See below for the available Workflow Action step and possible configuration for the PhotoDNA integration:

PhotoDNA Match Lookup

Submits an image to Microsoft’s PhotoDNA service to determine whether it matches known CSAM signatures. Use this step to automatically flag risky content, trigger manual review, or escalate cases according to your safety policies.

Configuration Steps:

Provide values for required fields:

• Enhanced Detection: Enable additional detection logic, if supported by your endpoint.
• Value Format: The format of the input provided (e.g., "URL").
• Image URL: The URL of the image you want to scan. Ensure the image URL is publicly accessible so PhotoDNA can retrieve and analyze it.

FAQs

What types of content does PhotoDNA detect?

PhotoDNA detects images that match known CSAM signatures in Microsoft’s database. It does not classify generic nudity or adult content.

Can I use PhotoDNA on videos?

This integration currently supports still images only.

What happens if PhotoDNA detects CSAM?

You can configure Persona to:

• Automatically escalate the Case,
• Notify your Trust & Safety team, or
• Trigger automated reporting processes