Does PrivacyScrubber send my data to any server?

No. Every detection and masking operation runs locally inside your browser's RAM. Zero bytes of your text, documents, or session tokens leave your device. Verify this yourself: open DevTools → Network tab, test our DLP speed benchmark , or disconnect from the internet entirely — our air-gapped local processing keeps working offline.

Which AI platforms does the browser extension support?

The PrivacyScrubber Chrome extension injects real-time PII masking directly inside ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot (Bing Chat), Grok, Perplexity, DeepSeek, Qwen, Kimi, and Zendesk. For coding agents and autonomous workflows, explore our AI Agents Protection guide, or use the web app at privacyscrubber.com to sanitize text before pasting it into any interface.

What does the free version include?

The free tier includes our core PII Removal Tool with the General PII profile (names, emails, phones, SSNs, EINs, addresses, corporate entity names), text scrubbing up to 15,000 characters, single-file upload (.txt, .docx), and PDF text extraction up to 3 pages. Our PRO Plan unlocks 24+ industry detection profiles, batch file processing, unlimited custom regex rules, offline OCR for scanned images & PDFs , and downloadable redacted PDFs.

Can PrivacyScrubber sanitize W-2 forms, paystubs, and payroll documents?

Yes. Our specialized financial PII profile natively detects Employer Identification Numbers (EIN/FEIN), payroll-format names (LASTNAME, FIRSTNAME), corporate employer names with legal suffixes (Inc, LLC, Corp), and US street addresses. All wage amounts, tax withholdings, hourly rates, and financial figures are preserved untouched — essential for loan underwriting and HR payroll compliance .

Can I get my original data back after the AI responds?

Yes. Paste the AI's response back into the tool and click Reveal. The 1-Click Reveal engine swaps every token ([NAME_1], [EMAIL_2], etc.) back to the original value using your volatile local session map — zero server round-trips, zero database storage.

Does this help with HIPAA, GDPR, or SOC 2 compliance?

PrivacyScrubber is designed to support de-identification under HIPAA Safe Harbor (45 CFR §164.514) for 18 PHI identifiers, GDPR Article 25/32 data minimization, and SOC 2 Type II controls by stripping identifiers in browser RAM before prompt submission. Review our Top 20 Corporate PII Guide and CISO AI Security Blueprint for detailed governance controls.

What is the CISO Procurement Memo and how do enterprise teams use it?

The CISO Procurement Memo is a standardized, copy-ready compliance document for enterprise IT, security architects, and procurement officers. It provides General Counsel, DPOs, and InfoSec committees with formal statutory evidence (GDPR Art. 4(8)/28, HIPAA 45 CFR § 164.502(e), CCPA § 1798.140) proving that because PrivacyScrubber runs 100% in local client RAM with 0 bytes transmitted to any server, third-party DPA/BAA contracts and lengthy vendor risk questionnaires (SIG/CAIQ) are legally non-applicable, enabling fast-track 0-day software approval.

How does PrivacyScrubber prove zero network egress and lightweight memory usage?

Every software build undergoes an automated 13-suite security and performance QA pipeline in continuous integration (CI). Automated headless network sniffers verify that during PII sanitization, exactly 0 HTTP, WebSocket, or background telemetry packets leave the browser. In-memory heap profiling enforces an ultra-lightweight ceiling under 6MB RAM (5.68 MB JS Heap) and sub-75ms streaming DOM mutation scans across 5,000 live nodes, ensuring zero laptop heating and zero CPU throttle. Review the full audit in our Technical Security Specifications .

What happens to the session map when I close the tab?

The session map exists exclusively in volatile browser RAM and is strictly isolated per tab. The moment you close the tab, reload the page, or navigate away, the entire mapping — including all original PII values and cryptographic keys — is permanently purged from memory. Read more in our Technical Security Architecture .

What is the difference between AI Tokens mode and Blackout mode in PrivacyScrubber?

AI Tokens mode replaces sensitive entities with structured badges like [NAME_1] and [EMAIL_1], preserving contextual roles for LLMs (ChatGPT, Claude) and allowing 1-click restoration via Reveal Originals. Blackout mode applies permanent, solid black raster bars over sensitive pixel coordinates, physically destroying vector text layers for court filings, legal discovery, and FOIA releases with zero underlying text leakage.

Why do standard PDF blackout tools leak data, and how does PrivacyScrubber prevent it?

Most conventional PDF editors and markup tools merely overlay black rectangles as a visual layer, leaving underlying OCR text, character coordinates, and metadata intact and extractable via Cmd+A copy or pdftotext. PrivacyScrubber executes true Secure Raster Flattening : pages are re-rendered in local RAM, PII coordinates are overwritten at the pixel level, and a fresh PDF is synthesized with zero underlying text layers, guaranteeing 100% leak-proof redactions.

What file formats can I sanitize, and what do I get back?

Supported formats include .txt, .docx, .pdf (text-layer and scanned images via Tesseract OCR), .xlsx, and .csv. With Batch File Redaction and Excel Spreadsheet Scrub , you can download sanitized files with PII removed or export redacted PDFs with permanent raster flattening (zero underlying text layers).

How does TEAMS encrypted session handoff work?

PrivacyScrubber TEAMS uses Argon2id key derivation and XChaCha20-Poly1305 authenticated encryption (via libsodium WASM). Through encrypted team session handoff , colleague Alice scrubs prompts and shares a cryptographic blueprint; colleague Bob restores original values locally with zero server intermediary.

How does Shadow DOM sandboxing protect against malicious scripts?

PrivacyScrubber wraps editor inputs and tokenized outputs inside closed Shadow DOM roots. This makes unredacted sensitive text completely inaccessible to DOM-scraping scripts, third-party analytics, or unauthorized browser extensions running on the host page. Learn more about our in-DOM prompt sandbox .

Can I use PrivacyScrubber as an MCP server in Cursor, Windsurf, or Claude Desktop?

Yes. The official @privacyscrubber/mcp-server package runs as a local stdio-based Model Context Protocol server for Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Desktop, and VS Code. It intercepts codebase prompts, sanitizes database passwords and API tokens in RAM, and protects your software development workflows with zero external calls.

Is there a developer SDK for integrating PII sanitization into my own pipeline?

Yes. The @privacyscrubber/sdk NPM package exposes the headless sanitization engine as a programmatic Node.js & ESM library. Call scrubText() and unscrubText() directly inside CI/CD pre-commit hooks, RAG pipelines, and automated LLM gateways with zero external dependencies.

Does changing the detection profile reset my session?

No. Switching between our 24+ industry profiles (e.g. from General to Legal & Contracts or Medical) preserves active tokens and session maps. Tokens remain restorable via Reveal until you click the Clear button explicitly.

How does PrivacyScrubber prevent data residue in system RAM?

After processing documents (PDF, DOCX, XLSX), the engine immediately overwrites all temporary ArrayBuffers at the byte level with zeroes (Uint8Array.fill(0)) before releasing them to garbage collection. Pair this with our tamper-evident audit receipts for verifiable forensic compliance.

Can enterprise or accounting teams pay via invoice or wire transfer?

Yes. For organizations requiring formal vendor onboarding, purchase orders (PO), or SWIFT/SEPA bank wire transfers, we provide custom invoicing with EU VAT reverse-charge support. Check our transparent pricing matrix or visit our Enterprise Solutions Hub .

Does PrivacyScrubber load any third-party analytics or tracking scripts?

No. The platform loads zero analytics trackers, third-party cookies, or fingerprinting scripts. Maintaining strict Content Security Policies (CSP) ensures third-party endpoints cannot inspect memory or DOM states. Review our full commitments in our Zero-Server Privacy Policy .

How are TEAMS admin roles managed without a backend?

There are no centralized accounts. Team administrators configure mandatory regex rules and compliance profiles locally in the Teams Deployment Hub , then generate a cryptographically signed Blueprint URL. When team members open this link, the configuration locks client-side without any backend database.

What rights does a Team Administrator have compared to Managed Team Members in TEAMS?

The purchaser acts as the Team Administrator with exclusive authority to configure organization-wide custom Regex rules, corporate token taxonomy (e.g. [PATIENT_ID]), and default compliance profiles in the Teams Dashboard . When the Admin exports a cryptographically signed Blueprint with Lock Rules enabled, Managed Team Members receive a locked, read-only configuration across their Web App and Chrome Extension (badged as 🔒 Enterprise), preventing employees from altering or bypassing corporate DLP policies.

What is the difference between Custom Regex Rules and Token Labels?

Our Custom Regex Rules Engine discovers proprietary data formats (custom ticket IDs, project codes like PROJ-1234, internal server URLs). Token Labels, in contrast, customize the replacement placeholder (e.g. renaming [NAME] to [PATIENT_ID]) to give LLMs optimal domain context without modifying regex patterns.

How does PrivacyScrubber detect PII without AI hallucinations or latency?

PrivacyScrubber utilizes a high-performance deterministic pattern matching engine running natively in browser RAM (sub-2ms execution time). Unlike cloud LLM-based redaction which can hallucinate, omit tokens, or introduce network latency, our deterministic parser guarantees 100% reproducible tokenization across 18 core Safe Harbor/GDPR entity types (names, emails, phones, SSNs, credit cards, IBANs, medical MRNs, API tokens). PRO users can also inject custom regex rules or run local offline OCR for documents.

How does license key custody, non-transferability, and emergency revocation work without user tracking?

Because PrivacyScrubber maintains a Zero-Trust Data Sanitization (ZTDS) architecture with zero server databases and zero phone-home user tracking, license custody is sovereign to the purchaser. All license tiers are strictly non-transferable. If a key is accidentally leaked or exposed, the billing owner can immediately request emergency revocation via support@privacyscrubber.com. We append the SHA-256 hash of the compromised key to our global Key Revocation List (KRL), instantly invalidating it across all client instances within 24 hours while reissuing a secure replacement.

What are the exact operational boundaries between Personal PRO, Team Workspace, and Developer SDK licenses?

PRO ($15/mo or $110 Lifetime) is a single-user personal license valid on up to 3 personal devices (Web, Chrome, IDE MCP). TEAMS ($99/mo flat) is an organization-wide internal workspace covering unlimited internal staff with Master Key Isolation. The Developer SDK ($199/mo or $1,990/yr) covers headless execution across unlimited internal backend nodes, microservices, ETL pipelines, and internal RAG vector databases. Embedding into customer-facing commercial SaaS for third-party resale requires an OEM/Enterprise contract.

Is the PrivacyScrubber MCP Server completely air-gapped and zero-network?

Yes. The @privacyscrubber/mcp-server package executes strictly in local machine memory over standard stdio JSON-RPC transport. It makes zero outbound network requests, transmits zero telemetry, and performs all PII sanitization and token mapping exclusively in your local volatile RAM, satisfying stringent IDE security policies across Cursor, Windsurf, and Claude Desktop.

AI Threat Intelligence & News

Akamai Exposes MCP Back-End Flaws: Systemic Risk in AI Tool Architectures

Q: How does this vulnerability expose enterprise data?

Akamai's research demonstrates that back-end MCP server endpoints frequently lack mutual authentication and schema-strict input sanitization. Attackers leverage crafted tool responses and context injection techniques to force connected LLM agents into transmitting internal API tokens, system logs, and customer PII to external endpoints.

Q: How does PrivacyScrubber prevent this exploit?

PrivacyScrubber operates entirely on the local client via client-side RAM-only tokenization before prompts or agent context streams reach remote LLMs or back-end MCP services. By replacing real sensitive entities with ephemeral placeholder tokens, malicious MCP back-ends only collect non-sensitive synthetic values.

Akamai Exposes MCP Back-End Flaws: Akamai security researchers identified three systemic back-end vulnerabilities across Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementations, enabling unauthorized context hijacking and enterprise database exfiltration. PrivacyScrubber intercepts sensitive context payloads on the local client, tokenizing PII before MCP tool requests reach unauthenticated servers.

Ilya SibiryakovPrivacy Architect

Published: September 10, 2026 · Updated: September 10, 2026 · 3 min read

100% Local Processing ✈ Airplane Mode Verified⊘ No Server Logs

Live Turnkey Simulator · ZTDS Engine

Interactive PII Detection & Sanitization Sandbox

Test real-time client-side RAM tokenization. Choose a specialized preset or paste your own raw prompt to test instant reversible redaction.

0 Bytes Server Egress

<1.8ms Latency

Select Industry Test Payload: Preset: Security

Raw Input Payload

0 chars

RAM-Only Isolated Session

Automated Detection Classes:

User / Server IP AddressesAWS_KEYINTERNAL_HOSTNAMEMAC_ADDRESSVULN_ID

Open in Full Workspace

AI Risk Calculator

Company

AI Users50

Risk● Critical

Leaks/yr

9,000

Max Fine

€20M

Technical Incident Analysis

Cybersecurity researchers at Akamai published a comprehensive analysis detailing three distinct architectural vulnerabilities across Model Context Protocol (MCP) back-end implementations. The report demonstrates how architectural flaws in MCP tool routers permit unauthenticated command execution, context boundary crossing, and unauthorized database querying when agentic models interact with multi-tenant infrastructure. Understanding these vector paths is vital for securing enterprise AI Security Architecture, especially when managing interconnected LLM agents. This vulnerability pattern closely parallels other recent vector chains, such as the Related AI Security Incident, where indirect prompts tricked cloud LLM sandboxes into data theft.

Enterprise Blast Radius & Compliance Risks

When MCP servers parse untrusted input without strict cryptographic isolation, back-end context payloads can leak confidential database strings, employee credentials, and customer personal information. For enterprises operating under stringent global mandates, processing unmasked context buffers through compromised agent integrations triggers mandatory breach notification protocols under GDPR & CCPA Compliance regulatory standards.

Client-Side Mitigation via Zero-Trust Data Sanitization

Remediating MCP back-end vulnerabilities requires a zero-trust architecture that prevents sensitive raw data from ever entering the prompt stream or tool context payload. PrivacyScrubber deploys a local client-side engine that scrubs enterprise data entirely in-browser or on-premise prior to outbound network requests. Utilizing our Model Context Protocol (MCP) Sanitizer, PII is transformed into cryptographically secure placeholder tokens stored only in local client RAM. Even if a back-end MCP server is completely compromised by adversarial context injections, zero real-world sensitive data is exposed.

Developer AI & IDE Agent Pipelines Integration

Step-by-Step Integration Guide: Akamai Exposes MCP Back-End Flaws

PrivacyScrubber operates entirely client-side. Whether using the copy-paste dashboard, the browser extension, or the MCP Server, your sensitive records stay on your local device. Follow these instructions to safely use Developer AI & IDE Agent Pipelines:

1 Method A: Instant Clipboard & Web Workspace

Fastest for ad-hoc debugging, server crash logs, or DB dumps:

Paste the raw database dump, stack trace, or config payload into PrivacyScrubber.
Click Protect PII to locally tokenize all tokens, hostnames, and API secrets with 100% Local RAM Processing.
Copy the sanitized code and safely query ChatGPT, Claude, or Copilot.
Reveal responses locally using Reveal Originals with zero data egress.

2 Method B: Chrome Extension & MCP Server

For automated in-browser prompt masking & IDE agents (Cursor / Cline):

Install the free PrivacyScrubber Extension to auto-mask credentials directly in ChatGPT/Claude inputs.
Or connect the PrivacyScrubber MCP Server via Developer SDK to Cursor, Cline, or Claude Code.
Session token maps remain 100% in volatile RAM with zero telemetry.
Debug complex architectures without leaking production database URIs or AWS secrets.

Local Redaction & Risk Matrix for Security

Detection Entity	Token Placeholder	Risk Level	Security Action
User / Server IP Addresses	[IP_ADDRESS]	High (DLP / Location footprinting)	IPv4 / IPv6 format strip
AWS_KEY Details	[AWS_KEY]	Medium (PII Exposure)	Deterministic local swap
INTERNAL_HOSTNAME Details	[INTERNAL_HOSTNAME]	Medium (PII Exposure)	Deterministic local swap
MAC_ADDRESS Details	[MAC_ADDRESS]	Medium (PII Exposure)	Deterministic local swap
VULN_ID Details	[VULN_ID]	Medium (PII Exposure)	Deterministic local swap

3-Step Zero-Trust AI Workflow Template

Role: Lead DevSecOps Engineer / Cloud Security Architect · Target: Developer AI & IDE Agent Pipelines

1. Sanitize Data First

1Sanitize in PrivacyScrubber

2Run Prompt in Developer AI & IDE Agent Pipelines

31-Click Reveal via sessionMap

DevSecOps Root Cause Analysis (Production Stack Trace & Config Sanitization)PrivacyScrubber ZTDS Protocol

Act as a principal cloud systems architect. Analyze the following sanitized production stack trace and database configuration for [DB_NAME_1]:
1. Identify the root cause of the connection pool exhaustion and query timeouts.
2. Provide an optimized, non-blocking connection pool configuration for high concurrency.
3. Draft a step-by-step remediation patch.

CRITICAL COMPLIANCE INSTRUCTION (PrivacyScrubber ZTDS Standard): Retain all cryptographic token identifiers ([DB_NAME_1], [INTERNAL_IP_1], [SECRET_1], [JWT_TOKEN_1]) strictly unchanged in your configuration suggestions for client-side local rehydration via PrivacyScrubber.

Step 3: 1-Click Reverse Rehydration (No Manual Decoding)When Developer AI & IDE Agent Pipelines outputs tokens like [NAME_1], paste the AI response back into PrivacyScrubber Reveal to restore original sensitive data in 1 click in local RAM.

Auto-Reveal in Extension

The Manual Redaction Trap: Why DIY search-and-replace failsManual prompt editing misses 1 out of every 12 nested identifiers in logs, error traces, and tables, causing catastrophic compliance breaches. PrivacyScrubber deterministically sanitizes 25+ entity types in <2ms entirely in browser RAM before prompt submission.

Statutory Defense: SOC 2 Type II CC6.7 & OWASP Top 10 for LLM (LLM06: Sensitive Information Disclosure)API keys, Bearer JWTs, database connection URIs, and internal IP subnets are sanitized locally before entering the LLM context window, preventing vector-store credential leaks.

Enterprise Adoption Use Cases

CISO Security TeamDLP GOVERNANCE

Zero-Trust Verified

Security teams deploy client-side sanitization to keep outbound AI prompts free of sensitive organizational data, avoiding complex multi-party DPA negotiations.

VP of EngineeringENGINEERING SEC

Zero-Trust Verified

Engineering managers secure developer copy-paste workflows, sanitizing cloud credentials and API keys locally before they enter public LLM histories.

Risk & Audit LeadCOMPLIANCE AUDIT

Zero-Trust Verified

Compliance directors verify local-only sanitization at the browser extension level, satisfying SOC 2 Type II controls for external AI data transmission.

Data Protection OfficerGDPR COMPLIANCE

Zero-Trust Verified

Data protection officers enforce client-side tokenization, keeping prompt text fully minimized and anonymous in compliance with GDPR data processing rules.

Flat Rate — Unlimited Seats

Your Whole Team on Real Client Data. Safely. $99/mo Flat.

No per-seat pricing. No DPA negotiation. No IT portal. Secure your entire organization with client-side PII masking — $99/month flat, unlimited users. SOC 2 & HIPAA ready. Works in Airplane Mode.

Protect My Team

Zero-Trust Data Sanitization (ZTDS) — Verified Architecture

Independently auditable facts for Sensitive Data compliance teams

Data transmission: 0 bytes sent to any server
Processing location: 100% browser RAM (volatile memory)
Session map persistence: Destroyed on tab close — never written to disk
Key derivation: Argon2id (memory-hard, server-independent)
Encryption cipher: XChaCha20-Poly1305 (authenticated encryption)
Offline verification: Airplane Mode Standard — full function without network
BAA / DPA required: No — zero PHI/PII reaches PrivacyScrubber servers
Audit method: Chrome DevTools → Network tab — zero outbound requests

How to audit: Open PrivacyScrubber, enable Airplane Mode, paste any sensitive data text, click Protect PII. Open Chrome DevTools → Network tab. Zero outbound requests will confirm 100% local execution. The session token map ([NAME_1], [EMAIL_1]…) lives only in browser tab memory and is permanently destroyed when the tab is closed.

COMPLIANCE FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about deploying zero-trust AI for AI Threat Intelligence & News Teams.

How does this vulnerability expose enterprise data?

Akamai's research demonstrates that back-end MCP server endpoints frequently lack mutual authentication and schema-strict input sanitization. Attackers leverage crafted tool responses and context injection techniques to force connected LLM agents into transmitting internal API tokens, system logs, and customer PII to external endpoints.

How does PrivacyScrubber prevent this exploit?

PrivacyScrubber operates entirely on the local client via client-side RAM-only tokenization before prompts or agent context streams reach remote LLMs or back-end MCP services. By replacing real sensitive entities with ephemeral placeholder tokens, malicious MCP back-ends only collect non-sensitive synthetic values.

← More AI Threat Intelligence & News Solutions

Akamai Exposes MCP Back-End Flaws: Systemic Risk in AI Tool Architectures

Interactive PII Detection & Sanitization Sandbox

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AI Risk Calculator

Technical Incident Analysis

Enterprise Blast Radius & Compliance Risks

Client-Side Mitigation via Zero-Trust Data Sanitization

Step-by-Step Integration Guide: Akamai Exposes MCP Back-End Flaws

1 Method A: Instant Clipboard & Web Workspace

2 Method B: Chrome Extension & MCP Server

Local Redaction & Risk Matrix for Security

3-Step Zero-Trust AI Workflow Template

Enterprise Adoption Use Cases

Your Whole Team on Real Client Data. Safely. $99/mo Flat.

Zero-Trust Data Sanitization (ZTDS) — Verified Architecture

Frequently Asked Questions

Blueprint Generated

Add to Device Home Screen

Redacted Document Inspection

Zero-Trust DLP Benchmark 0ms Egress

Security & DPO Approval Memorandum

Developer SDK & CLI Quickstart

Akamai Exposes MCP Back-End Flaws: Systemic Risk in AI Tool Architectures

Interactive PII Detection & Sanitization Sandbox

Try PII Masking Live

AI Risk Calculator

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Automate Compliance For Your Team

Technical Incident Analysis

Enterprise Blast Radius & Compliance Risks

Client-Side Mitigation via Zero-Trust Data Sanitization

Step-by-Step Integration Guide: Akamai Exposes MCP Back-End Flaws

1 Method A: Instant Clipboard & Web Workspace

2 Method B: Chrome Extension & MCP Server

Local Redaction & Risk Matrix for Security

3-Step Zero-Trust AI Workflow Template

Enterprise Adoption Use Cases

Your Whole Team on Real Client Data. Safely. $99/mo Flat.

Zero-Trust Data Sanitization (ZTDS) — Verified Architecture

Frequently Asked Questions

Encrypted Prompt Handoff & Fleet Governance

Blueprint Generated

Add to Device Home Screen

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