Responding to public records requests? AI identifies PII and other exempt information so you can redact faster and more consistently.
No signup required • unlimited free documents (with watermark)
Public records requests can involve hundreds of pages. You're required to release documents but must redact exempt information—PII, personnel records, law enforcement details. Manual review is slow, expensive, and inconsistent across reviewers.
SafeRedact scans documents and flags likely exempt information—SSNs, home addresses, personal phone numbers, dates of birth. Your team reviews the AI's suggestions and makes final decisions. Faster, more consistent, defensible.
SSNs, home addresses, personal phone numbers, and other PII.
Employee personal information in government documents.
Account numbers and sensitive financial details.
Federal FOIA requires disclosure of agency records — unless one of nine exemptions applies. Understanding which exemptions require redaction is critical for lawful response.
Information properly classified under Executive Order 13526. Requires security classification review, not just PII detection.
Narrowed by the Supreme Court in Milner v. Dept. of Navy (2011) to cover only HR-type rules — not operational procedures.
Information specifically exempted by another statute (e.g., tax return information under 26 U.S.C. § 6103, Census data under 13 U.S.C. § 9).
Protects proprietary business data submitted to the government. Redact pricing, formulas, customer lists, and financial projections from third-party submissions.
Inter-agency or intra-agency memos that are pre-decisional and deliberative. Protects the agency's decision-making process. Does not cover factual information.
Personnel, medical, and similar files whose disclosure would constitute a "clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." This is where AI-powered PII detection has the biggest impact — automatically identifying SSNs, home addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, and other personal identifiers across hundreds of pages.
Records compiled for law enforcement purposes, with sub-exemptions for: (A) interference with enforcement, (B) fair trial, (C) personal privacy of third parties, (D) confidential sources, (E) investigation techniques, (F) life/physical safety. Exemption 7(C) is the second most common basis for redaction after Exemption 6.
Reports prepared by or for agencies that supervise financial institutions (OCC, FDIC, Federal Reserve examination reports).
Data about wells — oil, gas, water. Rarely invoked but protects proprietary geological survey data.
Key principle: FOIA requires "reasonably segregable" portions of exempt documents to be released. This means you redact only the exempt information — not the entire document. Accurate, surgical redaction is legally required.
All 50 states have their own public records laws, with different exemptions and deadlines.
Florida, Texas, and New Hampshire have broadly permissive disclosure laws with narrow exemptions. More content is released, so precise redaction of the exempt portions is critical.
FL: Ch. 119 • TX: Gov't Code Ch. 552
California (CPRA), New York (FOIL), and Illinois have balanced frameworks with defined categories of exempt information and clear timelines (typically 10-20 business days).
CA: Gov't Code § 7920 • NY: Pub. Off. Law Art. 6
Pennsylvania, Virginia, and some other states allow broader exemptions for personnel records, investigative files, and internal communications — but PII redaction is still required on released portions.
PA: Right-to-Know Law • VA: FOIA § 2.2-3700
Improper redaction in FOIA responses creates legal liability and public embarrassment.
Redacting too much triggers legal challenges. Requesters can file administrative appeals and lawsuits under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B). Courts review redactions de novo and can award attorney's fees if the agency substantially loses.
Risk: litigation costs, fee-shifting, court-ordered disclosure
Failing to redact exempt information exposes personal data. Copy-paste "redaction" (black boxes over text that can be selected and copied) is the most common failure — it looks redacted but isn't. The Manafort case, Epstein files, and countless state-level disclosures have all suffered from non-permanent redaction.
Risk: privacy violations, identity theft, public trust erosion
AI pre-identifies exempt information, reducing manual review time by 50% or more.
Same detection criteria applied across all documents and reviewers.
Redacted data is excluded from output, not hidden. Safe for public release.
Final decisions always made by your team. AI assists, humans decide.
Redact unlimited documents for free (with watermark). No signup required.
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