# Redact Text for AI — Remove personal info before pasting into ChatGPT

Swap names, emails, phone and card numbers, API keys and addresses for placeholders before pasting into an AI chat, then put them back. Part of OneMacTools, 148 private tools in one native Mac app (macOS 26 or later); category: Utilities. Runs on your Mac; nothing is uploaded.

Paste an email, a log or a contract and OneMacTools finds the private details on your Mac: emails, phone numbers, card numbers and IBANs (checked, so order numbers aren't caught), API keys and tokens, IP addresses, names, companies and street addresses. Each becomes a placeholder like [EMAIL-1], the same value always getting the same one, so the AI can still follow the text. Paste the AI's reply back in and the real details are filled in again. The originals are kept in memory for an hour, never on disk.

Page: https://www.onemactools.com/tools/redact-text-for-ai · Download: https://www.onemactools.com/download · Pricing: https://www.onemactools.com/pricing

## How to use it
1. **Paste the text.** An email, a support ticket, a log file or a contract you want help with.
2. **Choose what to hide.** Emails, phone numbers, card numbers and IBANs, keys, IP addresses, names and addresses are all on to start.
3. **Click Redact.** Private details become placeholders like [NAME-1] and [EMAIL-1], and the text is copied.
4. **Paste it into the AI chat.** The AI can still follow who's who, since the same detail always gets the same placeholder.
5. **Put the details back.** Paste the AI's reply into the tool, choose Put the details back into a reply, and click Redact.

## Options
- **Do:** Hide private details, or Put the details back into a reply (using the placeholders from your last redaction, kept in memory for an hour).
- **Replace with:** Placeholders like [EMAIL-1], which can be put back later, or black bars, which can't.
- **Emails and links:** Email addresses and web links.
- **Phone numbers:** Phone numbers with at least seven digits, in most countries' formats.
- **Card numbers and IBANs:** Card numbers that pass the card check digit and IBANs that pass the bank check, so order numbers aren't caught.
- **API keys, tokens and passwords:** Keys from OpenAI, Anthropic, GitHub, AWS, Google, Slack and Stripe, JSON web tokens, private keys, and anything after password=, token= or secret=.
- **IP addresses:** IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.
- **Names of people and companies:** Found with Apple's on-device language analysis; every repeat of a name gets the same placeholder.
- **Street addresses and places:** Postal addresses, cities and countries.

## Tips
- Read the redacted text before you paste it: name detection is good but not perfect, especially for unusual names.
- Use placeholders rather than black bars when you want the AI's reply back with real names.
- Ask the AI to keep the placeholders exactly as written, so they can be filled back in.
- Turn off places when the city matters to the question, such as a shipping problem.
- The originals are held in memory for an hour and never saved, so redact and restore in one sitting.

## Questions
**How do I remove personal information before pasting into ChatGPT?**
Paste the text into Redact Text for AI and click Redact. Names, emails, numbers, keys and addresses become placeholders, and the clean text is copied, ready to paste.

**Can I get the real names back in the AI's answer?**
Yes. Paste the reply into the tool and choose Put the details back into a reply. Every placeholder is swapped back for the original.

**Is my text sent anywhere to be checked?**
No. Everything is found on your Mac with Apple's own language tools.

**Will it catch API keys in a log file?**
It recognises keys from the common services and values after words like password, token and secret. Check unusual formats yourself.

**Why wasn't a name hidden?**
Names are recognised from context, and unusual names or names in lists can be missed. Read the result before sharing.

**Where are the originals kept?**
In memory only, for an hour or until OneMacTools quits. They're never written to disk.