BrandVideoAI

What each vendor's terms say about commercial use

Consent as a condition on a product route, and as a duty on the user

A Synthesia custom avatar requires the person to be over the applicable legal age and to have given free, informed consent. Higgsfield states that an image of another person may not be uploaded or used without that person's permission. As of 2026-09-22.

Consent built into a route, and consent asked of a userOne vendor makes consent the condition on a product route: a presenter who looks like a real person requires that person's agreement, and agreeing lifts the restrictions attached to stock avatars. The other states a rule about any upload.Decide thepresenterA stock avatarcarrieslimits; acustom onerequiresconsent.A choiceObtainagreementFree,informed, andfrom somebodyover theapplicablelegal age.A recordOr simplyuploadOn the otherrow the ruleapplies to anyimage ofanotherperson.Same dutyKeep thereleasePeridentifiableperson, heldwith the cliprather than inan inbox.
Fig. 1 The same artefact is needed either way, and neither vendor can produce it afterwards.
Readings side by sideFilled where the product publishes something on that point, hollow where its pages do not address it.Readings side by sideSynthesiaHiggsfieldWhere the duty sitsWhere the duty sits — Synthesia: On the route that lifts restrictionsWhere the duty sits — Higgsfield: On whoever supplies the fileWhat is requiredWhat is required — Synthesia: Free, informed consent and legal ageWhat is required — Higgsfield: That person's permissionWhat it unlocksWhat it unlocks — Synthesia: Use in paid promotionWhat it unlocks — Higgsfield: Nothing extra; the licence is already givenEnforcement visibleEnforcement visible — Synthesia: Suspension is mentioned on the pageEnforcement visible — Higgsfield: Not stated on the page read
Fig. 2 Filled where the product publishes something on that point, hollow where its pages do not address it.
Synthesia and Higgsfield on the input restriction, side by side. Recorded 2026-09-22.
The questionSynthesiaHiggsfield
Where the duty sitsOn the route that lifts restrictionsOn whoever supplies the file
What is requiredFree, informed consent and legal ageThat person's permission
What it unlocksUse in paid promotionNothing extra; the licence is already given
Enforcement visibleSuspension is mentioned on the pageNot stated on the page read

Inclusion rule. Two vendors whose published answers in one column point in different directions, or sit far enough apart that a reader choosing between them would decide differently. Order. The vendor named first in the heading is the one whose wording is quoted first.

1A condition on a feature, and a rule about behaviour

One vendor has built consent into a product route: to use a presenter who looks like a real person, that person has to have agreed, and agreeing lifts the restrictions attached to stock avatars.

The other states a rule that applies to any upload, without a feature attached. The obligation is similar and the mechanism is not, and the difference shows up in who is positioned to check.

2Free and informed against permission

The first formulation has three parts: consent, freely given, from somebody over the applicable legal age. Each part points at a failure mode, and the middle one is the live question when the person is an employee.

The second is one word, and it covers more ground: uploaded or used reaches a reference worked from rather than uploaded. Breadth and precision are both useful, and neither wording has both.

3What a production keeps in either case

A release per identifiable person, held with the clip. That is the same artefact on both rows, and neither vendor is in a position to produce it after a complaint arrives.

Which is the argument for treating this column as the one that outlasts a change of tooling. A licence question moves when a supplier changes; a consent record is needed whoever rendered the frames.

4A third set of terms on the same question

How SceneMixer's terms answer the input restriction, beside Synthesia and Higgsfield. Recorded 2026-10-13.
The questionSceneMixerSource
Photographs as referencesOn a paid plan a photograph can be uploaded as a character's reference, provided the user holds the rights to itSceneMixer, character face guide
A real person's likenessDeepfakes of real people without documented consent are strictly prohibitedSceneMixer, terms of service

Inclusion rule. SceneMixer's own published wording on the column this pair was chosen for. Order. The sentence closest to the column first.

Its full row is on the SceneMixer entry.

  • Input restriction
    An image of another person may not be uploaded or used without that person's permissionpermission for a real personHiggsfield, who owns my generations / recorded 2026-09-22
  • How the restriction is lifted
    With a custom avatar the licensing restrictions above do not apply, and videos may be used according to the agreement made with the personby avatar typeSynthesia, video licensing / recorded 2026-09-22

5Both documents

The first column comes from the video licensing page at synthesia.io, read 2026-09-22; the second from the help centre answer at higgsfield.ai, read 2026-09-22. Each vendor’s full row is on Synthesia and Higgsfield, and the column being compared is described on input restriction. A comparison of wording is not legal advice. Other pairs: HeyGen and SceneMixer, Kling and Synthesia.