Privacy Text Redactor

Remove emails, phone numbers, IP addresses, credit cards, and other sensitive information from text. 100% private – all processing happens in your browser.

Paste Your Text

What to Redact

Redacted Text

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What is Text Redaction?

Text redaction is the process of removing or obscuring sensitive information from documents or text before sharing them. This tool automatically detects and replaces personally identifiable information (PII) like email addresses, phone numbers, IP addresses, credit card numbers, and Social Security Numbers with placeholder tags. It's essential for protecting privacy when sharing text with AI assistants (ChatGPT, Claude), posting online, or collaborating with others.

Why Redact Text Before Sharing?

Privacy Protection

Prevents accidental exposure of personal information when pasting text into AI chatbots, forums, support tickets, or collaboration tools. Your email, phone number, or address could be indexed, stored, or shared without your knowledge.

Compliance Requirements

GDPR, HIPAA, and other data protection regulations require removing PII before sharing data externally. Redaction helps organizations comply with privacy laws when sharing examples, logs, or documentation.

Security Best Practice

Redacting IP addresses, server names, and internal references prevents exposure of network infrastructure details that could be used for attacks. Essential when sharing error logs, configuration files, or technical documentation.

Safe AI Usage

When using ChatGPT, Claude, or other AI assistants for help with emails, documents, or code, redact sensitive information first. AI companies may use conversations for training, so never share real credentials, customer data, or confidential information.

How to Use This Text Redactor

  1. Paste your text: Copy text containing sensitive information into the input field.
  2. Select redaction options: Check which types of information to hide (emails, phones, IPs, etc.).
  3. Add custom keywords: Enter company names, project names, or other specific terms to redact (comma-separated).
  4. Review redacted output: The tool automatically replaces sensitive data with placeholder tags like [EMAIL_REDACTED].
  5. Copy or download: Use the cleaned text safely wherever you need it.

What Gets Redacted?

📧 Email Addresses:

Matches: john@example.com, user.name+tag@domain.co.uk → [EMAIL_REDACTED]

📱 Phone Numbers:

Matches: +1-555-123-4567, (555) 123-4567, 555.123.4567 → [PHONE_REDACTED]

🌐 IP Addresses:

Matches: 192.168.1.1 (IPv4), 2001:0db8:85a3::8a2e:0370:7334 (IPv6) → [IP_REDACTED]

💳 Credit Cards:

Matches: 4532-1234-5678-9010, 4532 1234 5678 9010 → [CARD_REDACTED]

🆔 Social Security Numbers:

Matches: 123-45-6789 → [SSN_REDACTED]

🔢 Numbers:

Matches: Any number with 2+ digits (order IDs, account numbers) → [NUM]

🔤 Custom Keywords:

Matches: Any words you specify (project names, company names) → [REDACTED]

Common Use Cases

  • Sanitizing text for AI chatbots: Remove PII before asking ChatGPT or Claude for help with emails, documents, or code containing sensitive information.
  • Sharing error logs: Redact server IPs, internal hostnames, and user data from logs before posting to forums or support tickets.
  • Publishing case studies: Anonymize customer names, email addresses, and company details in success stories or examples.
  • Code review submissions: Remove API keys, database credentials, and internal URLs from code snippets before sharing publicly.
  • Training documentation: Create sanitized examples for tutorials or training materials without exposing real user data.
  • GDPR compliance: Remove PII from datasets, exports, or reports before analysis or sharing with third parties.

Is This Tool Secure?

Yes. This text redactor runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your text never leaves your device – there's no server upload, no external API calls, and no data storage. You can verify this by:

  • Checking your browser's network activity (no outgoing requests)
  • Using the tool while offline (works without internet after page load)
  • Reviewing the open-source code (all processing is client-side)

However, redaction is pattern-based and may miss edge cases. Always review the output before sharing. For maximum security with highly sensitive documents, use manual redaction or professional-grade tools.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will this catch all sensitive information?

The tool uses pattern matching to detect common formats (emails, phones, IPs, cards). It catches most standard formats but may miss unusual variations or context-specific sensitive data. Always review the output and use custom keywords for domain-specific terms like project names, employee IDs, or proprietary terminology.

Can I undo redaction or recover original text?

No. Redaction is one-way – once sensitive data is replaced with placeholder tags, the original values cannot be recovered from the redacted output. Keep a copy of your original text if you need to reference it later. The tool doesn't store any history or provide an "undo" function.

What's the difference between redaction and encryption?

Redaction permanently removes or replaces sensitive information, making it unrecoverable. Encryption scrambles data but allows authorized parties to decrypt it back to the original. Use redaction when you want to share sanitized text publicly. Use encryption when you need to protect data in transit or storage while preserving the ability to access the original later.

Does this work for languages other than English?

Partially. Email addresses, IP addresses, phone numbers, and credit cards follow international formats that work in any language. However, custom keyword matching works for all languages if you specify the words. Social Security Numbers are US-specific. For non-English PII, use the custom keywords feature to specify sensitive terms in your language.

Can I use this for redacting PDFs or Word documents?

This tool works only with plain text. To redact PDFs or Word documents: (1) Copy text from the document, (2) Paste into this tool and redact, (3) Copy the redacted text back into a new document. For proper PDF redaction with visual markup, use dedicated PDF redaction software like Adobe Acrobat Pro.

What if I need to redact names or addresses?

Use the "Custom Keywords" field to specify names or address components. For example, enter "John Smith, 123 Main Street, Springfield" to redact those specific terms. For bulk name redaction, list multiple names separated by commas. Enable "Case-sensitive" if you want exact matches only.