Remove PII from Excel —
AI Detection for GDPR, HIPAA & CCPA
Upload your Excel file. AI automatically detects all personally identifiable information — names, SSNs, emails, phone numbers, addresses, and 20+ data types. Review, confirm, and download a redacted copy. Available on Pro plan.
Need the basics first? What does redacted mean?
What Counts as PII in Excel?
Any data in your spreadsheet that can identify a specific individual is considered PII and may need to be removed before sharing.
Personal Identity
Full names, dates of birth, SSNs, passport numbers, driver's license numbers
Contact Information
Email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses, IP addresses
Financial Data
Bank account numbers, credit card numbers, salary figures, tax IDs
Employment Data
Employee IDs, job titles with names, performance reviews, payroll data
Medical Information
Medical record numbers, insurance IDs, diagnoses linked to individuals
Government Data
Visa/immigration details, court case numbers, government benefit information
Regulations That Require PII Removal
Failing to remove PII from shared Excel files can result in significant fines and legal liability.
EU General Data Protection Regulation
Requires data minimization — only collect and retain PII that is strictly necessary. Individuals have the right to erasure. Fines: up to 4% of annual global revenue.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
Mandates protection of 18 specific identifiers (Safe Harbor method). Applies to any Excel file containing patient or health plan member data. Fines: up to $1.9M per category.
California Consumer Privacy Act
Requires businesses to protect consumer personal information. Consumers can request deletion. Statutory damages: $100-$750 per consumer per incident.
The Cost of Exposed PII
Sharing Excel files with unremoved PII isn't just a privacy risk — it's a regulatory liability.
of annual global revenue — maximum GDPR fine for data breaches involving unremoved PII
per violation category per year — maximum HIPAA penalty for failing to protect PHI
per consumer per incident — CCPA statutory damages for unauthorized disclosure of personal data
How AI Removes PII from Excel
Three steps. No configuration. No manual searching.
1. Upload your .xlsx file
Drag and drop any Excel file. Redactly scans every cell across all sheets — including hidden sheets and hidden rows.
2. AI detects all PII
AI identifies names, SSNs, emails, phone numbers, addresses, financial data, and 20+ other PII types by understanding context, not just patterns.
3. Review and download
See every detection with color-coded labels. Keep or reject each item. Download your redacted file where PII is replaced with [REDACTED].
Privacy & Security
Your files are handled locally where possible. Extracted text may be sent securely to our AI provider for PII detection. Redactly does not intentionally store original documents or use document content for training.
Product Limitations
Excel (.xlsx) PII removal requires a Pro plan ($19/month). PDF and Word redaction are free. PDF redaction applies visual overlays to obscure detected sensitive information. Word (.docx) redaction replaces text in the document XML.
What to review before sharing
- •AI detection may miss some sensitive information or flag non-sensitive content. Always review the redacted document before sharing.
- •PDF redaction applies visual overlays. For highly sensitive documents, the underlying text may still be extractable by advanced tools.
- •Word and Excel redaction replaces detected text values in the document structure. Review all changes before distributing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as PII in an Excel spreadsheet?
What regulations require PII removal from Excel?
Is hiding rows or columns a valid way to remove PII?
Can I choose which PII types to remove?
What are the penalties for not removing PII from shared Excel files?
Last updated: May 2026