Visible columns
Names, email addresses, IBANs, tax codes and national insurance numbers in plain columns are detected and listed sheet by sheet.
Excel and CSV redaction
Excel redaction for every sheet in the workbook
Redactic finds names, email addresses, IBANs and tax codes in Excel workbooks and CSV exports, hidden sheets and comments included. You review each item, then download a file that is masked with labels or blacked out for good.
Where personal data hides in a workbook
A workbook holds more than the columns you see when you open it. Redactic reads four places from a single upload and brings what it finds into one review list, so you no longer unhide sheets and open comments one at a time.
Free-text notes
A note cell often repeats a name that already appears in a column. Redactic reads note cells as text, and a name it detects there gets the same label the person has everywhere else in the workbook.
Hidden sheets
A hidden sheet still travels with the file to whoever receives it. Redactic processes it like the visible sheets and leaves it hidden in the file you download.
Comments and file properties
A cell comment stays on its cell with its text and its author redacted, and the author fields saved in the file properties are cleared.
Two ways to protect a spreadsheet
Both modes work on Excel workbooks and CSV files, and you choose according to what the recipient needs to do with the file.
Mask, when the file still has work to do
Each value becomes a placeholder, and the same value gets the same placeholder in every cell and every sheet. A person who is ⟦PERSON_1⟧ in a column is ⟦PERSON_1⟧ in the notes and the comments too, so a consultant or an AI tool can still follow one person across the workbook. Masking is reversible, and you can put the real values back later.
Blackout, when the data must be gone
Blackout removes the values permanently, and they cannot be restored. Choose it when the recipient has no reason ever to see the original values.
What stays in place
You download the workbook you uploaded with the detected values replaced, and you skip the work of copying the safe columns into a new file. Sheet names are kept, hidden sheets stay hidden, and formatting such as bold text and formulas such as =A2 remain in their cells.
In a CSV file each cell is masked on its own and every column stays where it was. Files exported by Excel keep their accented letters and symbols such as €, and the downloaded file opens directly in Excel.
Every detected item is shown for review before you download, and you can undo a wrong detection there. Before the file is released, a final check confirms that no detected value is left in any cell, including phone numbers written with different separators. A file that fails the check is not delivered.
Where Excel redaction saves you time
Payroll and HR exports
Send a payroll or absence spreadsheet to a consultant or an auditor with names and tax codes replaced by labels. The recipient can still follow each person across the sheets, and you skip deleting columns by hand.
Client and CRM lists
Share a customer export with an agency or a supplier after the names and email addresses have been masked or blacked out. The columns stay as they were, so the recipient finds every field where they expect it.
Analysis with AI
Ask an AI tool to find trends in a spreadsheet with the detected names and IBANs replaced by labels. Each person keeps one label across the workbook, so the model can still group the rows that belong together, and masking is reversible when you need the real values again.
Europe, no storage and a DPA.
Detection and redaction run in Europe on infrastructure Redactic controls, without third-party AI reading the unredacted text. Your files are not saved, and the data processing agreement under GDPR art. 28 is signed when you subscribe.
Frequently asked questions
Does Redactic process hidden sheets?
Yes. Redactic reads every sheet of the workbook, hidden ones included, and redacts them like the visible sheets. They stay hidden in the file you download.
What happens to cell comments?
Each comment stays on its cell, with its text and its author redacted. The author fields stored in the file properties are cleared as well.
Will my formulas still be there?
Yes, formulas such as =A2 stay in their cells. When a formula refers to a cell that was redacted, look at its result before you send the workbook.
Can I give the masked file to an AI tool?
Yes. Each person has one label across the whole workbook, so the model can follow the same person from sheet to sheet. Masking is reversible, and the real values can be put back afterwards.
Does it work with CSV files from European Excel?
Yes. Redactic handles files separated by commas, semicolons or tabs, including the semicolon files that European versions of Excel export and files that start with a "sep=;" line. Each cell is masked on its own, the columns stay as they were, accented letters are preserved, and the downloaded file opens directly in Excel.
Where are the files processed?
Redactic runs on Hetzner servers in Helsinki and Germany, and storage is on Cloudflare R2 under EU jurisdiction. In the default EU data region, the AI providers it uses are hosted in the EU and receive masked text only.
Redact your first spreadsheet
Upload a workbook or a CSV export and review what Redactic found before you download the file you will send.