Redact the names from a text, in one click
Paste a report, an email or notes below. Every name, phone number, email and address is replaced by a code such as NAME-001, consistently, so the text still makes sense. Keep this tab open if you want to reverse it later; close it, and the codes can no longer be traced back from this page.
Restoring uses the key of this tab: code your text here first, keep this tab open, then come back with the answer.
Adjust
See the key (it stays in this tab)
The key links each code to the real value. It exists only in this tab's memory: close or reload the tab and it is gone.
connect-src 'none' in its security policy) and loads no analytics. Turn Wi-Fi off once the page has loaded: the tool works just the same. The engine is the one inside the Hidden Tokens app.How it works
1 · Code
Paste a text or drop a file. Names, companies, addresses, emails, phone numbers, bank details, ID and case numbers become codes such as NAME-001 or COMPANY-001. Unknown proper nouns are coded too: when in doubt, the engine codes.
2 · Send the codes
Copy the coded text, or download the coded file, and give it to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot. The AI reasons on the codes: it still knows who did what, not who they are.
3 · Restore
Paste the AI's answer in the Restore tab, in the same browser tab. The codes become the real names again, on your screen only.
Example: an incident report to share
Incident report — 29 October 2026, north depot
At 14:20, forklift driver Mark Dellow reversed into a racking unit. Agency worker Julian Pradley suffered a bruised arm and was seen by first aider Claire Upton. Witness: Steven Ogilvie, 07700 900245.Incident report — 29 October 2026, north depot
At 14:20, forklift driver FIRSTNAME-001 NAME-001 reversed into a racking unit. Agency worker FIRSTNAME-002 NAME-002 suffered a bruised arm and was seen by first aider FIRSTNAME-003 NAME-003. Witness: FIRSTNAME-004 NAME-004, PHONE-001.Four people and a phone number are replaced, each by its own code, so the reader can still follow who did what. The date, the time and what happened stay readable.
Codes or black bars: which redaction do you need?
Classic redaction draws a black bar: the name is gone, and so is the information that the same person appears twice. Coding keeps that structure. FIRSTNAME-002 NAME-003 in line two and in line nine is the same person, which keeps an incident report, a complaint or a case study readable.
- To share a text with a colleague or an AI: code it, keep the tab open, and restore whatever comes back.
- To publish or archive a redacted text: code it, copy the coded text, and close the tab. The key disappears with it. Read the result first: roles, places and dates can still point to someone.
- To redact a PDF for court or a regulator: this tool does not edit PDFs. Use your PDF editor's redaction function, which removes the text under the black bar.
Need to redact many documents the same way? The Hidden Tokens app codes whole folders with one key and records each run in a signed ledger.
The free tool or the Hidden Tokens app?
This free tool
- One text or one file at a time
- Up to 3,000 words or 1,000 spreadsheet rows
- The key lives in this tab and disappears when you close it
- Word, Excel, CSV and text
The Hidden Tokens app
- Whole folders: the same person keeps the same code in every document
- One key per case file, kept on your computer
- PDF and scanned documents, read on your computer
- Inside Claude Desktop, and in ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot with the extension
- Industry packs, firm rules and a signed proof of what the AI saw
A word on the word “anonymize”
Strictly speaking, this tool pseudonymizes: each value is replaced by a code that can be reversed with the key. Under the GDPR, pseudonymised data is still personal data for whoever holds the key, which here is you, in this tab. What the AI receives no longer names anyone directly. Clues can remain, such as a job, a town and an age together: the tool warns you when it sees them. Read the result before sending it.
Questions
Is closing the tab enough to make it irreversible?
From this page, yes: the key exists only in the tab's memory. The codes keep the text's structure, so read the result for clues before publishing it.
Can I redact only some names?
Yes. Add words to keep under Adjust → Keep readable, such as a public figure or your own company's name.
Does it redact PDFs?
No. Copy the PDF's text here, or use the redaction function of your PDF editor for a document that must stay a PDF.
Why codes and not asterisks?
Asterisks merge everyone into one blank. Codes keep each person distinct, so the redacted text can still be understood, summarised or analysed.
Other ways to use the free tool
By file type
By AI tool
By task
For whole folders, use the app
Hidden Tokens codes whole case files on your computer with one key, works inside Claude Desktop and in your browser, reads PDFs and scans, and puts the real names back into Word and Excel files.