Keeping personal data private when you work with AI
Many people use tools like Claude with texts that contain real names. This tool is meant to make sure the AI service never sees those names, while its answers still make sense.
Status: The tool is in development and not yet available. This page describes what it is meant to do. Once a first version exists, you will find setup instructions here.
The problem
When you give a text to an AI assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT, that text is sent to the provider’s servers and processed there. Most of the time that is fine. It becomes delicate when the text contains personal details: names of clients, patients or colleagues, addresses, dates of birth, case numbers.
In Germany and the rest of the EU, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) sets out when such data may be passed on to others. Many people who handle other people’s data, in law firms, medical practices, consulting or public administration, therefore ask themselves: am I even allowed to paste this into an AI tool?
What the tool does
It works like an interpreter between you and the AI service, running on your own computer:
- Before your text leaves your computer, the tool looks for names and other sensitive details.
- It replaces them with stand-ins that fit the text. “Maria Schneider from Regensburg”, for example, becomes “Anna Berger from Landshut”. The meaning is kept: a name stays a name, a town stays a town. That way the AI can still give a useful answer.
- The list of who is who stays with you. It is never sent.
- When the answer comes back, the tool puts the real names back in. You read the answer as if the detour had never happened.
So the AI service never learns whom you work for or whose data you are handling.
What it does not do
- It does not make everything permitted. Under the GDPR, pseudonymized data is still personal data. The tool lowers the risk considerably, but it does not replace a review by your data protection officer or legal advice.
- It does not catch everything. Unusual details, such as a rare illness combined with a small village, can identify a person even without a name. The tool helps, but it does not think for you.
- It only protects what passes through it. Text you type directly into an AI tool elsewhere is not covered.
- It does not replace choosing a provider you trust. Which AI service you hand your texts to remains your decision.
Who it is for
People who use tools like Claude with personal or client data and want to feel at ease doing so. No technical background should be needed.
Setup
Coming once a first version is available. The instructions will go step by step, without jargon.
Would you like to hear when it is ready, or try it early? Write to us at info@cloudstri.de.