Tutorial 011: How to Automatically Redact Sensitive PDF Data

Everyone handles confidential information - whether it is personal identifiable information, financial data, or company data. The thing about this kind of documents is that certain data must be protected and it cannot be shared that easily. Therefore, over the time, people have adopted certain techniques to censor this sensitive information and prevent that other people gain access to these details.

However, agreeing on what information should be considered sensitive and censor it one at a time can be time-consuming. Luckily, we have developed an endpoint that could tackle all of this at once. In this blog, we would like to showcase our transcription tool which can be integrated with other apps and endpoint in order to automate your workflow.

Not a fan of reading? No problem! Check out our quick, easy-to-follow video tutorial to learn everything you need!

Setting It Up the Redact PDF Module

The first step is to upload the desired document into a storage solution, such as Dropbox or Google Drive. Then, we sign up or log into one automation platform where this feature is available (Make, Zapier, and n8n).

After that, we can set up the first Dropbox module and choose the event called "Create/Update a Share Link", which will create a URL for the confidential documents. This way, 0CodeKit will be able to redact the PDF. To set it up, we need to choose the specific folder or file that we want to redact, give the link full access so it can analyze and remove specific information, and eliminate password requirement.

Then, we integrate a 0CodeKit module with the event "Redact Sensitive Information from PDF File" that will cover all confidential information. For the important part, we now have to tell the endpoint what should be considered sensitive content, we have to add the "Download URL" icon for 0CodeKit to access the document, what language is used in the document (optional), and give the file a name.

Later, we need an HTTP module with the event "Get a File" that will take the redacted PDF to send it back to Dropbox. Here, we only need to enter the "URL" icon into the URL field.

Finally, we add another Dropbox module with the event "Upload a File". We only need to choose the folder we want to upload it to, and click on "HTTP - Get a File". Once done, we can execute the scenario and receive our redacted PDF.

The Bottom Line

If you would like to know how to use other 0CodeKit features, head to our YouTube channel for more tutorials.