Is OpenRedaction free?

Yes, the regex-only library is free and open-source. You can use it locally without any external services. AI-assist via the hosted API has a free tier with IP-based limits, and a Pro tier with 50,000 requests/month for £9/month.

What is the difference between regex mode and AI mode?

Regex mode uses 500+ tested patterns for fast, deterministic PII detection. It works completely offline and is free. AI mode is optional and uses a hosted AI proxy for better detection on messy or unstructured text. AI mode requires the hosted API and has usage limits.

Does OpenRedaction store my data?

No, the hosted API is stateless and does not store raw text. Processing happens in memory and data is discarded after redaction. Minimal metadata may be logged for rate limiting. For complete privacy, you can self-host the open-source library.

What is the API limit?

Free tier: IP-based rate limiting with fair-use limits (approximately 200 AI-assist requests per day). Pro tier: 50,000 AI-assist requests per month with an API key. Regex-only redaction has no limits and works completely offline.

Terms of Service | OpenRedaction

Last updated: January 2025

1. Service Description

OpenRedaction provides an open-source library and optional hosted API service for detecting and redacting personally identifiable information (PII) from text. The service includes:

An open-source regex-based redaction library (free, self-hostable)
An optional hosted AI-assist API service (free tier with limits, Pro tier with API key)
Documentation, playground, and support resources

2. Best-Effort Service

OpenRedaction provides best-effort redaction, not perfect or guaranteed redaction. The service uses regex patterns and optional AI to detect PII, but:

Detection may miss some entities or produce false positives
Results are not guaranteed to be 100% accurate
You are responsible for manually reviewing output when handling highly sensitive data
For legal documents, compliance-critical content, or highly sensitive data, always perform manual review

Automatic redaction should be used as a first pass, not a final solution.

3. Liability Disclaimers

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OPENREDACTION AND ITS PROVIDERS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

Warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement
Any guarantee that the service will detect all PII or prevent all data leaks
Any guarantee of service availability, uptime, or performance

OpenRedaction shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to:

Data breaches or privacy violations resulting from missed PII detection
Compliance failures or regulatory penalties
Loss of data, profits, or business opportunities
Service interruptions or downtime

You are solely responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable privacy laws (GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA, etc.) and for verifying the accuracy of redacted output.

4. Acceptable Use Policy

You agree not to:

Use the service for any illegal purpose or in violation of any laws or regulations
Attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, or extract proprietary algorithms from the hosted API
Abuse, overload, or attempt to disrupt the service (including but not limited to DDoS attacks, rate limit circumvention, or automated abuse)
Use the service to process content that violates third-party rights (copyright, privacy, etc.)
Share or resell API keys without authorization
Use the service in a manner that could damage, disable, or impair the service or interfere with other users' access

Violation of this Acceptable Use Policy may result in immediate termination of your access to the service without refund.

5. Service Availability

Free Tier: The free tier is provided "as-is" with no service level agreement (SLA). We do not guarantee:

Uptime or availability
Response times or performance
Rate limit stability
Support or maintenance

Pro Tier: While we strive to maintain high availability, we do not provide formal SLAs. Service may be interrupted for maintenance, updates, or due to technical issues.

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the service (or any part thereof) at any time with or without notice.

6. Data Handling

Our data handling practices are described in our Privacy Policy.

In summary: we do not store your text. Processing is stateless and data is discarded after redaction. For complete privacy, you can self-host the open-source library.

7. API Keys and Account Security

You are responsible for:

Keeping your API keys secure and confidential
Not sharing API keys with unauthorized parties
Immediately revoking or rotating keys if they are compromised
All activity that occurs under your API key

We reserve the right to revoke API keys that are used in violation of these terms or for abusive purposes.

8. Payment and Refunds

Pro Tier Subscriptions:

Subscriptions are billed monthly in advance
All fees are non-refundable except as required by law
You may cancel your subscription at any time, but you will not receive a refund for the current billing period
We reserve the right to change pricing with 30 days notice

9. Termination

We may terminate or suspend your access to the service immediately, without prior notice, if you:

Violate these Terms of Service
Engage in abusive or illegal activity
Fail to pay fees when due (Pro tier)

Upon termination, your right to use the service will cease immediately. The open-source library remains available under its MIT license.

10. Open Source License

The OpenRedaction library is provided under the MIT License. Your use of the open-source library is governed by that license, not these Terms of Service.

These Terms of Service apply only to the hosted API service, playground, and website.

11. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms of Service at any time. We will notify users of material changes via email (for Pro tier subscribers) or by posting a notice on our website. Your continued use of the service after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the new terms.

12. Contact

If you have questions about these Terms of Service, please contact us through our support channels or contact page.