hiddentokens

Hidden Tokens / Academy / Lesson 3

Claude on confidential files

Lesson 3 of 9 · 4 min · app 0.14.4 · connector 2.42.0

How do I use Claude with confidential documents?

In Claude Desktop, install the Hidden Tokens connector and give it the folder the app watches: Claude then reads only the coded copies of your files, through Hidden Tokens, and never the originals. Start the conversation with "Open my Hidden Tokens folder", attach nothing, and ask your question; scans are read on your computer and you check the text before it is coded.

Before you start

You need Claude Desktop (Mac or Windows) and the Hidden Tokens app with a watched folder: the Academy practice folder from lesson 2, with the sample files already coded.

Step by step

  1. Install the connector from the app

    In the Hidden Tokens menu, choose Install the connector in Claude Desktop… then Open in Claude Desktop. Claude Desktop opens and offers to install Hidden Tokens: click Install. The app never writes into Claude's folders: Claude Desktop installs it itself.

  2. Point it at the watched folder

    In the extension's settings in Claude Desktop, choose as working folder the same folder the app watches (your Academy practice folder). Same folder, same key: NAME-001 means the same person in the app, in Claude and in the browser. The field is labelled Dossier de travail (the connector's settings are in French for now).

  3. Open the folder in a new conversation

    Start a new conversation, attach nothing, and write: Open my Hidden Tokens folder. Claude lists the files by reference ([F-…]), without reading them. If Claude asks you to upload files, repeat that sentence: the files are already there, through Hidden Tokens.

  4. Ask for a real piece of work

    Ask, for example: Summarise the dispute in the letter and the contract, and list what the client should do this week. Claude works on the coded copies: the parties appear as codes (COMPANY-001, NAME-001), the dates and the fee as they are. Hidden Tokens may show a plan first and ask for your go-ahead before coding a file.

  5. Read the scan, and proofread it

    Ask: Read the identity card scan. Hidden Tokens reads it on your computer (local OCR) and writes the text into a file ending in -ocr-A-RELIRE.md in the Hidden-Tokens subfolder. Open it, correct what the OCR got wrong, save, then tell Claude it is checked: only then is it coded. OCR makes mistakes, and a misread identifier would not be detected.

What can go wrong

Check yourself

Three questions, answered on this page. Nothing is sent anywhere.

1. How do you give Claude Desktop your case files?
Answer

Attach nothing and start with "Open my Hidden Tokens folder" Attached files would reach Claude in clear. Through the connector, Claude reads only the coded copies of the watched folder.

2. Why does a scan wait for you before it is coded?
Answer

OCR can misread an identifier, which would then not be detected: you check the text first The scan is read on your computer into a file to proofread. Only the corrected text is coded.

3. In Claude's answer you read NAME-001 and COMPANY-001. What are they?
Answer

The codes Hidden Tokens put in place of the real names; they turn back into names on your computer Claude reasons on codes that stay consistent across files. Lesson 5 shows how to put the real values back.

Frequently asked questions

Does Claude ever see the original files?

Not through Hidden Tokens: the connector only gives Claude the coded copies, and its instructions forbid reading the folder by any other means. What you type or attach yourself in the conversation, however, is sent as it is.

Can I use claude.ai in the browser instead of Claude Desktop?

Yes, with the browser extension (lesson 4): it codes the messages you type. But to work on whole files, Claude Desktop with the connector is the way: claude.ai does not see your watched folder.

What if I have an old extension called anonymiseur-ai4x?

Remove it in Claude Desktop's settings, under Extensions: Claude would otherwise see the same tools twice. Same key, same folder: nothing is lost.

Written for app 0.14.4 and connector 2.42.0 on . Not yet replayed on screen on Mac and Windows: if a label differs from what you see, trust your screen and tell us.