Redact Word Documents Automatically
Names, ID numbers, phone numbers, emails, and addresses become codes, and the document keeps its formatting: headings, tables, notes, and headers stay in place.
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.
An anonymized Word file in three steps
1. Load it
Drag in the .docx (or the .doc, or the .odt). If it is in Google Docs, download it as Word first.
2. Review
You see each person with their code and how many times they appear. Uncheck anything that is not data.
3. Use it with AI
Download the same Word file, with its formatting, and paste or upload it to the AI.
How to redact data in Word
Word has no automatic way to redact: by hand you would have to find every name, replace it or hide it, and then remove comments, tracked changes, and the author with Inspect Document. HILO does it on its own: you load the .docx, review what it found, and download it with the names and data replaced by codes, also in headers, footers, notes, text boxes, and tables. Comments, tracked changes (including deleted text), field codes, and properties are removed. It also reads LibreOffice .odt and the old .doc (it comes out as .docx).
Is it in Google Docs? Download it with File → Download → Microsoft Word (.docx), anonymize it here, and upload it again if you need to.
Where data hides in a Word file
Besides the body text, HILO checks:
- headers and footers, footnotes and endnotes;
- tables and text boxes;
- comments and text deleted with tracked changes (they are removed);
- the author and company in the file properties (they are emptied).
If the document has an embedded Excel spreadsheet, it is removed and you are told: it may hold far more data than what you see.
What you can ask the AI with an anonymized Word file
The text is still complete and structured, so the AI can work with it the same way:
- edit the wording or style;
- summarize section by section;
- compare two versions;
- pull out a list of tasks, deadlines, or obligations.
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.
No. Only the data is changed to codes; styles, tables, images, notes, and headers stay as they were.
They are removed: comments often have names, and tracked changes keep deleted text you cannot see. The certificate says what was cleaned.
The file properties (author, company, titles) are left empty.
Yes: download it as Word (File → Download → Microsoft Word) and load it here.
HILO does not read the text in a photo or screenshot yet. If the document has images, it warns you so you can check them before sharing.