Last updated: 22 July 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how the Private Redaction website at privateredact.app and the Private Redaction Chrome extension (together, "the Tool") handle information. In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" refer to the operator of the Tool. Private Redaction is a free, experimental tool that helps you black out ("redact") sensitive information in images, screenshots, documents and text.
1. The short version
Your files, images and text are opened and redacted on your own device. We do not run analytics or trackers inside the Chrome extension, we do not sell or share your content, and we do not store your documents. When you use the optional private-AI detection, only the extracted text is sent, straight from your browser to a sealed Nillion enclave, to identify what to redact. It is not sent to us and is not retained.
2. What the Tool processes on your device
To redact an image, screenshot or text, the Tool reads the content you point it at (an image you right-click, a region of a page you capture, or text you select) and produces the redacted output locally in your browser. This content is held only in memory for the duration of the task and is not transmitted to us. Optical character recognition (reading text out of images) also runs locally, on your device.
3. The optional private-AI detection
If you turn on the AI categories (for example names, addresses or organisations), the Tool sends only the text extracted from your content to a private-AI service operated via Nillion, which is designed to process that text inside secured, hardware-isolated ("sealed enclave") environments. On the default path this text goes directly from your browser to the enclave: our own server issues only a short-lived access token derived from a public key, and does not receive your text on that path. If the direct path is unavailable, the Tool may fall back to relaying the text through our own stateless service, which handles it only in transit to forward it and verify the result. The interface shows which path was used for each run and offers a verifiable attestation receipt. We do not store this text, and it is used only to return redaction suggestions for that request.
4. Information we collect
The Chrome extension contains no analytics, advertising, or tracking, and does not send your document content, browsing history, or personal information to us. The website uses privacy-respecting, cookieless aggregate analytics (Cloudflare Web Analytics) to count visits; this does not identify you and does not involve your document content. We do not build profiles of users and we do not sell or rent any information.
5. Permissions the extension uses, and why
The Chrome extension requests only the permissions needed to do its job: context menus (to add the right-click "Redact this image" and "Redact selected text" entries); active tab and scripting (only when you click the toolbar button or a menu item, to capture the region or read the image you chose); storage (to hand the captured content to the redaction workspace within your browser); clipboard write (so you can copy the redacted result); and access to privateredact.app and the Nillion API (used only for the optional private-AI detection described above). The extension does not read or collect the pages you browse.
6. Data retention and security
Because redaction happens on your device and we do not receive your content on the default path, we hold no copies of your documents, images or extracted text. Any text handled by the relay fallback is processed only in transit and is not stored. The connection to the enclave is encrypted, and the enclave's genuineness can be independently verified via the attestation receipt the Tool provides.
7. Third parties
The private-AI detection relies on Nillion's infrastructure to process extracted text inside sealed hardware. Nillion's handling of that text is governed by Nillion's own terms and technology. The website is hosted on Netlify and uses Cloudflare Web Analytics as described above. We do not share your content with any other third parties.
8. Children
The Tool is not directed to children and is intended for general, professional and personal use by adults.
9. Your choices
The manual redaction and the local pattern rules work with no network access at all; you can redact entirely offline by leaving the AI categories switched off. You control what content you point the Tool at and what you download or copy.
10. Changes
We may update this policy as the Tool evolves. Changes take effect when posted here, and the "last updated" date above will change. Material changes to how data is handled will be reflected in this policy and, where relevant, in the extension's Chrome Web Store data disclosures.
11. Contact
Questions about this policy, or requests relating to any data you believe we hold, can be raised via the Tool's public code repository at github.com/iamrobertmoore/privateredact. This Privacy Policy should be read together with our Terms of Use.