Redact contracts before using AI
To ask the AI to review a clause, compare two versions, or summarize obligations, first remove the personal data from the document: that way you protect its confidentiality.
Your document is not passed to any AI: it does not leave your computer and is not uploaded or stored. The name detector runs inside your browser. You can check it: after the first document, disconnect from the internet and it keeps working.
Options
Document language:
Citations of published works (“(Smith, 2019)” and the reference list) stay as they are. Turn it off for a blind review.
An italic paragraph, in the document’s language, that explains to the AI what the codes in brackets are and asks it not to try to guess the data.
Do you already have a HILO lookup table (from a dataset or another document)? Load it and the same people and data keep their codes.
First time using the anonymizer? To process your document without it leaving your phone, HILO has to download, only once, the dictionaries and files it needs (about 140 MB). We recommend using Wi-Fi. On a phone, the process may take longer than on a computer.
Do not close this tab.
People
ID numbers, phone numbers, and emails
Uncheck what you do not want to replace. The names you see here do not leave your computer.
To review
If you do not review them, they are covered anyway. Review them so you do not cover words that are not data.
Before downloading, look at this
These words were left in the anonymized document and could be people or data. Replace the ones that are.
From the signed contract to one you can share
1. Load it
Load the contract in Word or PDF, with its annexes if they are in the same file.
2. Review
Check that each party, guarantor, and witness has its own code.
3. Use it with AI
Ask the AI what you need about the clauses.
The parties, their IDs, and their addresses
A contract names the parties with their ID, address and sometimes their bank account, phone, or email; also guarantors, witnesses, and representatives. HILO replaces each piece of data with a code, and the same person has the same code throughout the contract, so the clauses still make sense.
Clauses in capitals and roles (“LANDLORD”, “the GUARANTOR”) stay as they are.
What gets covered in a contract
What identifies the signatories and anyone named:
- names of parties, guarantors, witnesses, and representatives;
- ID numbers, tax numbers, and passports;
- addresses, with their own code;
- phone numbers, emails, and accounts.
Amounts, terms, dates, and clauses stay as they are: they are what you will review.
What you can ask the AI with the anonymized contract
Without the names, the AI can still help you:
- spot ambiguous or one-sided clauses;
- compare the contract with a template;
- list deadlines, penalties, and each party’s obligations;
- draft an addendum or a formal notice.
Documents worth anonymizing before using AI
Plans
Start free. When you want more, subscribe or buy hilos on their own.
- Keyword search, coding, and annotating, with no limit
- Unlimited downloads of the edited document
- Error diagnostics and tools for datasets
- Topic and code summaries
- Kappa calculator
- AI features (concept maps, assisted coding, checklist, logic model, variable operationalization), with your hilos
- Anonymize documents: 1 without an account, 5 per week with your account (ES · EN · PT)
- 325 hilos per week for AI features (renewed every Monday at 00:00 UTC)
- Change tracking (redline)
- Change history and traceability
- Anonymize documents: 50 per week (ES · EN · PT)
Payment is processed by Paddle. HILO doesn't see or store your card details.
The week renews on Monday. Each anonymized document you download counts once per file.
Yes. Each person has their code throughout the text, and the note at the beginning explains to the AI what they are. It does not need the names to review clauses.
Yes: the lookup table says which code is each person. Keep it apart and do not share it with the document.
No: amounts, terms, and dates do not identify anyone on their own and are often exactly what you want to review.
Yes, if the PDF has text: you get a Word file with the data replaced. Signatures, which are images, are not carried over.
Account numbers are replaced as data, with their own code. Still, give the annexes one last look.