PII Anonymizer
Anonymize personal data lightning-fast – locally in Germany, without cloud risk.
No registration required • Public API available
Trust through Transparency
Compliance Statement:
- ✓ Art. 25 GDPR: Data protection by design and by default (Privacy by Design) – Local processing, data minimization, pseudonymization
- ✓ Art. 32 GDPR: Security of processing – HTTPS/TLS 1.3, session isolation (UUID), encryption, no audit logs of content
- ✓ Art. 5 GDPR: Data minimization – Original texts RAM processing only, mapping tables temporary 1h cache, then automatically deleted
- ✓ Art. 44-49 GDPR: No data transfer to third countries – All servers in Germany, SpaCy runs locally
Self-Assessment: Schiller & Wolf GbR
Date: 01.02.2026
Responsible: Michael Schiller (Managing Director)
100% Germany
Local processing
No Storage
RAM processing only
Encrypted
Session-based
No Logs
No logging
According to GDPR Art. 4 Para. 1, personal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. This means: Any information that can be directly or indirectly attributed to a person is considered personal and subject to data protection.
What does our anonymizer detect?
We detect full names ('Michael Berg'), direct contact information (emails, phone numbers), and identifying combinations ('Franziska from Berlin'). Single first names alone ('Michael') are not detected – only the combination with location or company makes them identifying.
Our PII anonymizer meets GDPR requirements and represents the state of the art for automated PII detection.
GDPR Compliance
Art. 32 GDPR – Appropriate Technical Measures
GDPR does not require 100% detection, but rather "appropriate technical and organizational measures" taking into account the state of the art.
State of the Art
98-99% detection rate is industry standard for automated PII detection and represents the current state of the art.
There is no fixed percentage in GDPR – the standard is the proportionality of the measures employed.
Our Detection Rates
Based on internal tests and benchmarks, we achieve the following detection rates:
Detection rates may vary depending on text quality and format.
Residual Risk Assessment
Despite high detection rates, there is a residual risk that individual PII may not be detected:
- Unusual spellings: Very rare names, dialects, typos
- Context-dependent PII: Information that is only identifying in context
- New formats: Not yet known phone or ID formats
Risk Mitigation
- For critical documents, we recommend manual review
- Use de-anonymization to verify results
- For sensitive data: Combine with manual review
Professional Use
Our PII anonymizer is suitable for professional use:
- Documented detection rates for compliance evidence
- Transparent processing with traceable results
- GDPR-compliant architecture (Privacy by Design)
- Regular updates of detection patterns
⚠️ Note: Responsibility for correct anonymization lies with the user. We recommend verifying results for critical use cases.
Our PII anonymizer supports all 27 EU countries plus UK, USA, Switzerland, and Turkey. Detection happens automatically based on recognized patterns.
Supported Countries (32 Countries)
Multilingual Name Recognition
Our AI recognizes names in 40+ languages automatically:
John Smith, José García, François Dubois, Maria Rossi, Piotr Kowalski, Γιώργος Παπαδόπουλος
International Phone Numbers
Supports all international formats from 32 countries:
+49 (30) 533 206 -0, +1-555-123-4567, +44 20 1234 5678, +33 1 42 86 82 00
Extensible: Our modular plugin system with 32 Country Detectors enables easy extension with additional countries and formats.
This data can identify individuals and is automatically detected:
Full Names & Pattern-based Detection
Michael Berg, Franziska Holm, Dr. Robert Hase, 'I am Peter', 'my name is Anna'
Full names uniquely identify individuals. NEW: Single first names in patterns like 'I am Peter' or 'my name is Anna' are also detected.
Email Addresses
michael.berg@example.com
Email addresses are direct contact information.
Phone Numbers (International)
+49 (0) 157 – 80636302 • +49-30-12345678 • 0033 1 23 45 67 89 • +44 20 1234 5678
International phone numbers in all formats. Supports +49, 0049, 0033 prefixes, parentheses (0), hyphens, en-dash (–), em-dash (—), and spaces in any combination. Short numbers under 8 digits are not detected.
Addresses & Street Names (30+ Countries)
Grüne Str. 2-8 • Karl-Marx-Allee 45 • Alte Gasse 1 • Berliner Chaussee 9 • Via Esempio 5, 00100 Roma
Complete addresses from all of Europe (DE, AT, CH, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, PL, SE, UK, etc.). Supports house number ranges (2-8), multi-word street names (Grüne Str., Alte Gasse), hyphenated names (Karl-Marx-Allee), all street suffixes (Straße, Weg, Platz, Allee, Gasse, Ring, Damm, Ufer, Chaussee, Pfad, Steig). Multi-line formats and country prefixes are recognized.
Bank Details (IBAN)
DE89 3704 0044 0532 0130 00
IBANs are sensitive financial data.
Birth Dates
23.07.1985, 15.03.1990
Birth dates can contribute to identification.
Cryptocurrencies
1BvBMSEYstWetqTFn5Au4m4GFg7xJaNVN2 (Bitcoin)
Bitcoin and Ethereum wallet addresses are detected. Crypto wallets can identify individuals and their assets.
EU IDs & Tax Numbers
DE333 099 231 • ATU12345678 • FR83 404 833 048 • BE0.123.456.789 • NL BSN • ES DNI/NIE
National ID documents and tax numbers from across the EU. EU VAT IDs (USt-IdNr, UID, TVA, BTW, IVA, NIF) from all 27 countries with flexible formats: spaces, dots, hyphens as separators. Additionally: Swiss AHV, Spanish DNI/NIE, French INSEE, Dutch BSN, Belgian Rijksregisternummer, German Personalausweis.
This information is not personal data:
Single First Names (without context)
Michael, Anna, Thomas (without 'I am' or location)
A first name alone does not identify a person – there are millions of people with the same first name. BUT: In patterns like 'I am Peter' or with location information they are detected.
Cities and Places
Hamburg, Berlin, Munich
Location information is public and does not identify a person.
Job Titles
Office Clerk, Software Engineer
Job titles describe a role, not a person.
Company Names
Schiller & Wolf, Google
Company names are not personal data. Exception: Companies with legal form (e.g. 'Müller GmbH') may be detected for sole proprietorships.
Our system also detects combinations that only become identifying together:
Examples of identifying combinations:
Franziska from Berlin
→ First name + City
Thomas works at Microsoft
→ First name + Company
Anna lives in Cologne
→ First name + City
How does it work?
- SpaCy detects individual entities: people, places, organizations
- When a single first name is within 40 characters of a place or company → identifying context
- The entire phrase is anonymized as
CONTEXT_PERSON_1
🇩🇪 Local Processing
All data is processed exclusively on our servers in Germany. Mapping tables are temporarily stored in cache (SolidCache, servers in Germany).
🗑️ Minimal Storage
Original texts: NO storage (RAM processing only)
Mapping tables: Temporary cache storage for 1 hour (for de-anonymization)
Anonymized texts: No storage by PII service
🔐 Encryption
All mapping tables are stored in cache and only accessible with your session ID (UUID, 128-bit). Automatically deleted after 1 hour.
📝 No Logging
We do not log content. Only technical metadata for statistics.
🔄 De-anonymization
Only possible with your session ID. Only you have access to your session ID. Not possible after 1 hour (data automatically deleted). No logging of de-anonymizations.
🌍 No Data Transfer
The PII anonymization service transmits NO data to third parties. All processing steps are performed exclusively on our servers in Germany. AI recognition (SpaCy) runs locally. What you do with the anonymized texts is your responsibility.
Lightning Fast
~15ms
1-2 entities, <100 characters
Very Fast
~20ms
5-10 entities, <500 characters
Solid Performance
~30ms
100+ entities, >3000 characters
| Complexity | Characters | Entities | Time | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | ~100 | 4 | ~15ms | ✓ Fast |
| Medium | ~1.000 | 40 | ~20ms | ✓ Fast |
| Complex | ~5.000 | 150 | ~30ms | ✓ Fast |
| Very Complex | ~15.000 | 450 | ~50ms | ✓ Fast |