How to Redact Any File

Overview

Conseal offers two redaction modes depending on how you plan to use the file after processing. Redact mode replaces sensitive content with a solid black box — the information is permanently hidden and cannot be recovered from the exported file. Anonymize mode replaces sensitive content with a labelled placeholder such as [NAME_1] or [EMAIL_2] — the original values are stored in an encrypted map file (.csmap) on your device, so they can be restored after AI processing is complete. Both modes process files entirely on your machine. Nothing is sent to any server.

Redact vs. Anonymize

Choose the mode that fits your workflow.

1. 1

   Redact (black box)

   Sensitive content is replaced with a solid black block. Use this when the information must never be visible in the shared file and you do not need to restore it later — for example, permanently sanitizing a document for public release.

2. 2

   Anonymize (labelled box)

   Sensitive content is replaced with a labelled token such as [NAME_1] or [ACCOUNT_42]. The token is visible in the file, so the AI tool can still reference it by label. Use this when you want to process the file with an AI tool and then restore the original values afterwards using Conseal's unredact workflow.

Step-by-step instructions

Follow these steps to redact or anonymize sensitive information from any file using Conseal.

1. 1

   Open Conseal and import your file

   Launch the Conseal desktop app. Click 'Open File' or drag and drop your document into the main window. Conseal supports PDF, Word (.docx), and Excel (.xlsx) files.

2. 2

   Scan for sensitive content

   Click 'Scan for PII'. Conseal automatically detects names, email addresses, phone numbers, dates, account numbers, and other common identifiers throughout the document — including inside tables, headers, footers, and metadata.

3. 3

   Review and adjust selections

   Scan results appear highlighted in the document preview. Deselect any content that should not be processed, or manually mark any sensitive content the scan may have missed.

4. 4

   Choose a mode: Redact or Anonymize

   Select 'Redact' to replace content with black boxes, or 'Anonymize' to replace content with labelled tokens. If you choose Anonymize, Conseal will save a .csmap file alongside the exported document — keep this file, as it is required to restore original values later.

5. 5

   Apply and export

   Click 'Apply'. Conseal processes the document and produces a clean output file. Click 'Export' to save it. The exported file is safe to share with AI tools or collaborators.