Quick Start Guide

Last Updated: January 24, 2026
Classification: PUBLIC

Get Started in 5 Minutes

This guide will help you get started with anonymize.today quickly. Follow these steps to analyze and anonymize your first text.

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Step 1: Create Your Account (2 minutes)

1. Visit anonymize.today
2. Click "Get Started Free" or "Sign Up" in the top right
3. Enter your email address
4. Create a password:
   • At least 8 characters
   • Include uppercase, lowercase, number, and special character
   • Example: MyPass123!
5. Click "Create Account"
6. Check your email and click the verification link
7. You're ready to go! You'll automatically receive 300 tokens on the Free plan

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Step 2: Analyze Your First Text (2 minutes)

Let's detect PII in some sample text:

1. After signing in, click "Analyzer" in the sidebar (or hamburger menu on mobile)
2. Paste this sample text:

   John Doe lives at 123 Main Street, New York, NY 10001. 
   His email is [email protected] and his phone number is +1-555-123-4567.
   He works for Acme Corp and his credit card is 4532-1234-5678-9010.
   

3. Select entity types (or click "Select All"):
   • ✅ PERSON
   • ✅ EMAIL_ADDRESS
   • ✅ PHONE_NUMBER
   • ✅ LOCATION
   • ✅ CREDIT_CARD
4. Choose language: English
5. Click "Analyze"

What you'll see:

• Detected entities highlighted in different colors
• Results table showing entity type, location, and confidence score
• Token cost (typically 2-5 tokens for this example)

Congratulations! You've successfully detected PII in text.

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Step 3: Anonymize Your Text (1 minute)

Now let's anonymize the detected PII:

1. Click "Use in Anonymizer" button (or go to Anonymizer page)
2. Configure anonymization operators:
   • PERSON: Choose "Replace" → Enter [NAME]
   • EMAIL_ADDRESS: Choose "Hash" → Select "SHA-256"
   • PHONE_NUMBER: Choose "Redact"
   • LOCATION: Choose "Mask"
   • CREDIT_CARD: Choose "Replace" → Enter [CARD]
3. Click "Anonymize"

Result:

[NAME] lives at [MASKED], [MASKED], [MASKED] [MASKED]. 
His email is a1b2c3d4e5f6... (hashed) and his phone number is [REDACTED].
He works for Acme Corp and his credit card is [CARD].

Token Cost: Typically 2-4 tokens

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Understanding Tokens

What are Tokens?

Tokens are used to track and charge for platform usage. Each operation consumes tokens based on:

• Text length
• Number of entities detected
• Operation type

Your Token Balance

• Free Plan: 300 tokens per 30-day cycle
• View Balance: Check the token display in the top right (desktop) or in the navigation drawer (mobile)
• Token Costs: Typically 1-10 tokens per operation

Token Costs

• Analyze: 1-10 tokens (depends on text length and entities)
• Anonymize: 1-10 tokens (depends on operations)
• AI Entity Creation: 50 tokens per operation

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Next Steps

Now that you've completed your first analysis and anonymization, here's what to explore next:

Learn More

• Complete User Guide - Comprehensive guide to all features
• Token System - Detailed token usage guide
• FAQ - Frequently asked questions

Try Advanced Features

• Create Custom Entities: Detect specific patterns in your data
• Create Presets: Save common entity/operator combinations
• Batch Processing: Process multiple texts at once (Basic+ plans)
• AI Entity Creation: Use AI to generate entity patterns (Basic+ plans)

Explore Plans

• Free Plan: Perfect for trying out the platform
• Basic Plan (€3/month): Unlock batch processing, encryption, API access, and more
• Pro Plan ⭐ (€9/month): Higher token limits for power users - Best Value

See Pricing & Plans for details.

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Tips for Success

✅ Start Simple: Begin with common entity types (PERSON, EMAIL_ADDRESS, PHONE_NUMBER)
✅ Use Presets: Try built-in presets like "GDPR Compliance" or "General PII Detection"
✅ Adjust Confidence: Lower threshold = more detections (may include false positives)
✅ Test First: Use the analyzer before anonymizing to see what will be detected
✅ Save Presets: Create presets for common workflows to save time

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Need Help?

• User Guide: Complete User Guide
• FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
• Support: Visit anonymize.today/support

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Last Updated: January 24, 2026

anonymize.today - User Guide

Last Updated: January 24, 2026 Classification: PUBLIC

Table of Contents

1. Getting Started
2. Core Features
3. Advanced Features
4. Account Management
5. Token System
6. Security Features
7. Troubleshooting
8. FAQ

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Getting Started

Creating an Account

1. Visit anonymize.today
2. Click "Get Started Free" or "Sign Up"
3. Enter your email address and create a password
   • Password must be at least 8 characters
   • Must include uppercase, lowercase, number, and special character
4. Verify your email address (check your inbox)
5. You'll automatically receive 300 tokens on the Free plan

Signing In

1. Go to anonymize.today
2. Click "Sign In" in the top right
3. Enter your email and password
4. If you have 2FA enabled, enter your verification code

Note: After 5 failed login attempts, your account will be locked for 30 minutes.

Understanding the Interface

After signing in, you'll see:

On Desktop (≥1024px):

• Sidebar Navigation: Access to all features on the left
• Token Display: Your current token balance (top right)
• Main Content Area: Where you work with your data
• Settings: Access via the user menu (top right)

On Mobile/Tablet (<1024px):

• Hamburger Menu: Tap the menu icon (☰) in the top left to open navigation drawer
• Mobile Header: Compact header with page title and sign-out button
• Token Display: Available in the navigation drawer
• Touch-Optimized: All buttons and controls are sized for easy tapping (44px minimum)
• Responsive Layout: Content adapts to your screen size automatically

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Core Features

1. PII Analyzer

Purpose: Detect personally identifiable information (PII) in text

How to Use:

1. Navigate to Analyzer from the sidebar
2. Paste or type your text in the input area
3. Select entity types you want to detect (or use a preset):
   • Choose from 256 entity types across all categories
   • Universal: PERSON, EMAIL, PHONE, LOCATION, DATE_TIME, AGE, URL, IP_ADDRESS, MAC_ADDRESS, DOMAIN
   • Financial: CREDIT_CARD, IBAN, SWIFT, CRYPTO
   • Healthcare: MEDICAL_LICENSE, NRP, ICD_CODE, NHS numbers, etc.
   • Government IDs: SSN, passports, driver licenses, tax IDs from 70+ countries
   • Or use one of 89 built-in presets for your country/region
4. Choose language from 27 supported languages
5. Adjust confidence threshold (default: 0.5 or 50%)
6. Click "Analyze"

Results:

• Highlighted text: Detected entities are highlighted in different colors
• Results table: Shows entity type, location, and confidence score
• Token cost: Displays how many tokens were used

Tips:

• Use presets to quickly select common entity combinations (89 built-in presets available)
• Country-specific presets (e.g., "Deutschland - Vollständig") include all relevant entities for that country
• Regional presets (e.g., "DACH Region", "Nordic Region") cover multiple countries
• Lower confidence threshold = more detections (may include false positives)
• Higher confidence threshold = fewer detections (more accurate)

Token Cost: Typically 1-10 tokens depending on text length and entities found

See Also: ANALYZER_GUIDE.md for detailed entity information and PRESETS_AND_ENTITIES.md for complete preset and entity lists.

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2. PII Anonymizer

Purpose: Anonymize detected PII using various operators

How to Use:

Option A: Analyze and Anonymize in One Step

1. Navigate to Anonymizer from the sidebar
2. Paste your text
3. Select entity types
4. Choose anonymization operators for each entity:
   • Replace: Replace with custom text (e.g., "[REDACTED]")
   • Redact: Remove completely
   • Hash: SHA-256, SHA-512, or MD5 hash
   • Encrypt: AES encryption (requires encryption key) - Basic+ plans
   • Mask: Partially mask characters (e.g., "J*** D**")
5. Click "Anonymize"

Option B: Use Analyzer Results

1. First, use Analyzer to detect entities
2. Click "Use in Anonymizer" button
3. Configure operators for each entity type
4. Click "Anonymize"

Operators Explained:

• Replace: Good for readability, replaces with fixed text
• Redact: Removes text completely (most privacy)
• Hash: One-way transformation, can't be reversed
• Encrypt: Reversible with the same key (for deanonymization) - Basic+ plans
• Mask: Shows partial information (e.g., "j***@example.com")

Token Cost:

• Apply-only (with analyzer results): 1-5 tokens
• Full anonymize (without analyzer results): 2-10 tokens

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3. Deanonymize (Basic+ Plans)

Purpose: Reverse encrypted anonymizations to restore original text

How to Use:

1. Navigate to Deanonymize from the sidebar
2. Paste your encrypted text (from Anonymizer output)
3. Select the same encryption key you used for anonymization
4. Click "Deanonymize"

Important:

• Only works with encrypted entities (not hashed or redacted)
• You must use the same encryption key
• Keys must be 16, 24, or 32 characters long
• Requires Basic, Pro, or Business plan

Token Cost: Typically 1-4 tokens

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4. Batch Processing (Basic+ Plans)

Purpose: Process multiple texts at once

How to Use:

1. Navigate to Batch from the sidebar
2. Add multiple texts (one per line or separate entries)
3. Select entity types and language
4. Click "Process Batch"

Results:

• Each text is analyzed separately
• Results are shown for each text
• You can export results

Token Cost: Each text is charged separately using the analyze formula

Plan Requirement: Basic, Pro, or Business plan required

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Advanced Features

5. Custom Entities

Purpose: Create custom patterns to detect specific types of information beyond the 256 built-in entity types

How to Use:

1. Navigate to Entities from the sidebar
2. Click "Create Entity" or "Create Entity with AI" (Basic+ plans)

Manual Entity Creation:

1. Enter entity name and description
2. Write a regex pattern (e.g., EMP-\d{6} for employee IDs)
3. Provide examples (positive and negative)
4. Add context words (optional) to improve accuracy
5. Select languages and category
6. Test your pattern with sample text
7. Save

AI-Powered Entity Creation (Basic+ Plans):

1. Click "Create Entity with AI"
2. Step 1: Describe what you want to detect in natural language
3. Step 2: AI generates a regex pattern and context words automatically
4. Step 3: Test patterns with your own data and refine if needed
5. Step 4: Review quality metrics (precision, recall, estimated accuracy) and save

Token Cost: 50 tokens per AI operation (generation, refinement, validation)

Benefits of AI Creation:

• No regex expertise required - describe in plain English
• Smart context detection - AI suggests relevant context words
• Quality validation - Estimates accuracy before saving
• Pattern optimization - AI optimizes for performance

Sharing Options:

• Private: Only you can use it (all plans)
• Team: Your organization can use it (Basic+ plans)
• Public: All users can use it (Basic+ plans)

Editing Entities:

1. Click the Edit button (pencil icon) on any entity card
2. Modify the entity name, description, or patterns
3. Add new patterns or remove existing ones
4. Click "Update Entity" to save changes
5. Your changes are immediately available for use
6. The "Updated" timestamp will show when the entity was last modified

Deleting Entities:

1. Click the Delete button (trash icon) on any entity card
2. Confirm the deletion in the dialog (shows entity name for confirmation)
3. The entity will be removed from your list
4. Note: Deleted entities are soft-deleted and can be recovered by support if needed

Tips:

• Test patterns thoroughly before using in production
• Use specific patterns to avoid false positives
• Edit entities instead of recreating them to preserve history
• Each entity can have multiple patterns with different confidence scores
• Higher confidence scores (closer to 1.0) indicate stronger matches

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6. Presets

Purpose: Save common entity and operator combinations for quick reuse

Built-in Presets (89 Total):

anonymize.today includes 89 built-in presets covering:

• 64 Country-Specific Presets: Complete PII detection for individual countries (e.g., "Deutschland - Vollständig", "United States - Complete", "日本 - 完全")
• 10 Regional Presets: Multi-country coverage (e.g., "DACH Region", "Nordic Region", "Balkans - Complete")
• 15 Language-Based Presets: Universal coverage for language groups (e.g., "English - Universal", "Deutsch - Universell")

Using Built-in Presets:

1. In Analyzer or Anonymizer, click the "Preset" dropdown
2. Browse or search from 89 built-in presets
3. Filter by region, language, or country
4. Select a preset - all settings are automatically applied
5. You can still modify settings after applying

Creating Custom Presets:

1. Navigate to Presets from the sidebar
2. Click "Create Preset"
3. Configure:
   • Name and description
   • Select from 256 available entity types
   • Configure anonymization operators for each entity
   • Set target languages and confidence threshold
   • Add tags for easy searching
4. Save for reuse

Managing Presets:

• Edit: Modify existing custom presets
• Delete: Remove presets you no longer need
• Clone: Duplicate built-in presets to create custom versions
• Share: Share custom presets with your team (Basic+ plans)

For complete preset details, see PRESETS_AND_ENTITIES.md.

Sharing Options:

• Private: Only you can use it (all plans)
• Team: Your organization can use it (Basic+ plans)
• Public: All users can use it (Basic+ plans)

Editing Presets:

1. Click the Edit button (pencil icon) on any user-created preset card
2. Modify the preset name, description, entities, language, or threshold
3. Entity selection persists correctly during editing
4. Click "Update Preset" to save changes
5. Your changes are immediately available for use
6. The "Updated" timestamp will show when the preset was last modified
7. Note: Built-in presets cannot be edited (they're protected - no edit/delete buttons shown)

Deleting Presets:

1. Click the Delete button (trash icon) on any user-created preset card
2. Confirm the deletion in the dialog (shows preset name for confirmation)
3. The preset will be removed from your list
4. Note: Built-in presets cannot be deleted (no delete button shown)

Tips:

• Edit presets instead of recreating them to preserve history
• Built-in presets are read-only but you can create copies
• Timestamps show when presets were last updated

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7. Encryption Key Management (Basic+ Plans)

Purpose: Manage encryption keys for anonymization and deanonymization

How to Use:

1. Navigate to Settings → Encryption Keys
2. Click "Add Key"
3. Enter:
   • Key name (for easy identification)
   • Key value (16, 24, or 32 characters)
   • Or generate a random key
4. Set as default for specific entity types (optional)
5. Save

Key Features:

• Keys are encrypted at rest
• Usage history tracking
• Export keys (encrypted backup)
• Set default keys per entity type

Security:

• Keys are never displayed in full (masked)
• Each key can be used for any entity type
• Keys are user-specific (not shared)

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Account Management

Settings Overview

Access Settings from the sidebar or user menu. Settings are organized into tabs:

1. Account: Profile information, email change, password change, data export
2. Billing: Subscriptions, payment methods, invoices
3. Tokens: Balance, usage statistics, transaction history
4. History: Operation history preferences and management
5. Security: Two-factor authentication, session management, backup codes
6. Services: AI service configuration, Presidio connection test
7. Developer: API token management (Basic+ plans)

Updating Your Profile

1. Go to Settings → Account tab
2. Update your name
3. Click "Save Changes"

Note: To change your email address, see the "Changing Your Email Address" section under Security Features.

Changing Your Password

1. Go to Settings → Account tab
2. Click "Change Password"
3. Enter current password
4. Enter new password (must meet requirements: 8+ chars, upper/lower/number/special)
5. Confirm new password
6. Click "Update Password"

Managing Subscriptions

1. Go to Settings → Billing tab
2. View your current plan and subscription status
3. Upgrade: Click "Upgrade Plan" and select a plan
4. Payment Methods: Choose between PayPal or Stripe
5. Cancel: Click "Cancel Subscription" (access until cycle end)
6. View payment history and download invoices

Plans:

Payment Methods:

We accept secure payments via:

• PayPal: Pay with your PayPal account or credit/debit card through PayPal
• Stripe: Direct credit/debit card payments (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover)

All payments are processed securely with industry-standard encryption. We never store your full card details.

Note: All plans are displayed on the public pricing page at /pricing. The pricing page shows all four plans (Free, Basic, Pro, Business) in a responsive 4-column grid layout with detailed feature comparisons.

Payment Process

Upgrading to a Paid Plan:

1. Navigate to Settings → Billing tab or visit the Pricing Page
2. Click "Upgrade Plan" or "Start [Plan Name] Plan"
3. Review plan details and pricing
4. Select your preferred payment method:
   • Pay with PayPal: Use your PayPal account or pay by card through PayPal
   • Pay by Card: Direct card payment via Stripe
5. Complete the secure checkout process
6. Your plan activates immediately
7. Tokens are added to your account instantly
8. You'll receive a confirmation email with invoice

Checkout Experience:

• PayPal Checkout: Inline checkout box with tabbed interface

  • "Pay with PayPal" tab: Log in to your PayPal account
  • "Pay by Card" tab: Enter card details securely through PayPal
  • Official PayPal branding and security badges
  • Real-time order summary with itemized breakdown

• Stripe Checkout: Secure card payment form

  • Accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover
  • 3D Secure authentication for enhanced security
  • Instant payment confirmation

Subscription Management:

• View Subscription: See current plan, next billing date, and payment method
• Cancel Anytime: Cancel from Settings → Billing tab
  • Access continues until the end of your current billing period
  • No refunds for partial months
  • Automatic downgrade to Free plan at cycle end
• Update Payment Method: Manage payment methods via provider portal
  • PayPal: Update via PayPal account settings
  • Stripe: Update via Stripe customer portal link in Settings
• View Invoices: Download PDF invoices from Settings → Billing tab
• Payment History: View all past payments and transactions

Billing Cycle:

• Subscriptions renew automatically every 31 days (30 days for Free plan)
• You'll receive an email reminder 3 days before renewal
• Tokens reset at the start of each new cycle
• Failed payments trigger email notifications with retry instructions

Security & Privacy:

• All payments processed via PCI-DSS compliant providers (PayPal, Stripe)
• We never store your full card details
• Industry-standard encryption (TLS 1.3)
• Secure webhook verification for all payment events
• Comprehensive audit logging of all payment activities

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Token System

Understanding Tokens

Tokens are used to track and charge for platform usage. Each operation consumes tokens based on:

• Text length
• Number of entities detected
• Operation type (analyze, anonymize, etc.)

Viewing Your Balance

1. Go to Settings → Tokens tab
2. View:
   • Current balance
   • Total allocation
   • Tokens used
   • Cycle dates
   • Transaction history

Token Top-ups (Basic Plan Only)

1. Go to Settings → Billing tab
2. Click "Purchase Top-up"
3. Select amount: +200 tokens for €1
4. Choose payment method (PayPal or Stripe)
5. Complete secure checkout
6. Tokens are added immediately to your balance

Important Notes:

• Top-ups are exclusive to the Basic plan (as of v4.1.0)
• Pro and Business plans include sufficient tokens and cannot purchase top-ups
• Top-up tokens expire at the end of your current billing cycle
• Payment is processed securely via PayPal or Stripe
• You'll receive an email confirmation after successful purchase

Token Cycle Reset

• Tokens reset automatically at the start of each cycle
• You receive your plan's allocation (300/500/2000/10000 tokens)
• Unused tokens are not carried over
• Cycle dates are shown in Settings → Tokens

For detailed token information, see Token System

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Operation History

Overview

Operation History stores encrypted records of your anonymization, analysis, batch, and deanonymization operations. This feature helps you:

• Review past operations
• Track what entities were detected and anonymized
• Maintain an audit trail for compliance
• Reuse previous anonymization results

Privacy First: All input and output text is encrypted at rest using AES-256. Only you can access your history.

Storage Limits by Plan

Note: Limits are per operation type (Analyzer, Anonymizer, Batch, Deanonymizer). When the limit is reached, the oldest entry is automatically deleted (FIFO).

Enabling Operation History

Step 1: Enable in User Settings

1. Go to Settings → History tab
2. Review your plan's history limits
3. Toggle "Enable History" to ON
4. Optionally set "Save to History by Default" to automatically save all operations

Step 2: Per-Operation Control

When using Analyzer, Anonymizer, Batch, or Deanonymizer:

1. Look for the "Save to History" toggle in the header
2. Check the box to save this specific operation
3. Proceed with your operation as normal

Viewing Your History

From the History Panel:

1. Open any tool (Analyzer, Anonymizer, Batch, Deanonymizer)
2. Click the "History" button in the header
3. The History panel shows:
   • Number of entries (e.g., "3 of 10 entries")
   • List of past operations with timestamps
   • Quick actions: View details, Delete entry

What's Stored:

For each operation, the history includes:

• Operation Type: Analyzer, Anonymizer, Batch, or Deanonymizer
• Timestamp: When the operation was performed
• Entities Found: Number and types of entities detected
• Tokens Charged: Token cost of the operation
• Processing Time: How long the operation took
• Input/Output Text: Encrypted, only accessible to you

Managing Your History

View Entry Details:

• Click on any history entry to view full details
• See the original input text (decrypted)
• Review the anonymized output
• Check which entities were detected and how they were handled

Delete Individual Entry:

• Click the delete icon next to any entry
• Confirm deletion
• Entry is permanently removed

Clear All History:

1. Go to Settings → History tab
2. Click "Clear History"
3. Select operation type or "All"
4. Confirm deletion
5. All entries for selected type(s) are permanently removed

Privacy & Security

Encryption:

• All input and output text is encrypted with AES-256
• Encryption keys are stored securely in the database
• Only you can decrypt and view your history

Access Control:

• Only authenticated users can access their own history
• No sharing or export of history to other users
• History is included in GDPR data export (Settings → Account → Export Data)

Data Retention:

• History entries are kept until manually deleted or limit reached
• When limit is reached, oldest entries are auto-deleted (FIFO)
• You can clear history at any time

Best Practices

For Compliance:

• Enable history for operations that require audit trails
• Regularly review and export history for compliance reporting
• Set appropriate retention policies based on your requirements

For Privacy:

• Disable history if you don't need it
• Regularly clear history for sensitive operations
• Use per-operation toggle for selective saving

For Performance:

• History has minimal performance impact
• Encrypted storage ensures data security
• FIFO deletion prevents database bloat

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Security Features

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Purpose: Add an extra layer of security to your account

Setup:

1. Go to Settings → Security tab
2. Choose a method:
   • Authenticator App (recommended): Scan QR code with Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, etc.
   • Email Verification: Receive codes via email
3. Save backup codes securely
4. Enable 2FA

Using 2FA:

• When signing in, enter your password
• Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app or email
• Click "Verify & Sign In"

Managing 2FA:

• Enable/disable methods in Settings → Security
• Set default method (if multiple enabled)
• Regenerate backup codes if needed

For detailed 2FA information, see TWO_FACTOR_AUTH.md

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Session Management 🆕

Purpose: Monitor and control where you're signed in

Viewing Active Sessions:

1. Go to Settings → Security tab
2. Scroll to "Active Sessions" section
3. You'll see all devices where you're currently signed in:
   • Device information: Browser and operating system
   • Location: Country and city (from IP address)
   • Last active: When the session was last used
   • Current session: Highlighted with a badge

Managing Sessions:

• Revoke a specific session: Click the "Revoke" button next to any session
• Log out everywhere: Click "Revoke All Other Sessions" to sign out from all devices except your current one
• Automatic revocation: Sessions are automatically revoked when you:
  • Change your password
  • Change your email address
  • Reset your password

Security Tips:

• ✅ Regularly review your active sessions
• ✅ Revoke sessions you don't recognize
• ✅ Log out from public or shared computers
• ✅ Use "Log out everywhere" if you suspect unauthorized access

Session Limits:

• Sessions expire after 30 days of inactivity
• Sessions are automatically revoked after 24 hours of no activity
• You can have unlimited active sessions

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Changing Your Email Address 🆕

Purpose: Update your account email address securely

How to Change:

1. Go to Settings → Account tab
2. Scroll to "Change Email Address" section
3. Enter your new email address (twice to confirm)
4. Click "Request Email Change"
5. You'll be asked to re-authenticate:
   • Enter your password, OR
   • Enter your 2FA code (if enabled)
6. Check your NEW email for a verification link
7. Click the verification link within 24 hours
8. Your email will be updated, and you'll be logged out everywhere

Security Measures:

• ✅ Re-authentication required: Must verify your identity before requesting
• ✅ Dual notification: Both old and new emails are notified
• ✅ 24-hour cancellation window: Old email can cancel the change
• ✅ Force re-login: All sessions are logged out after the change
• ✅ Rate limited: Only 1 change request per 24 hours

Canceling a Pending Change:

If you have a pending email change request:

• Option 1: Click "Cancel Request" in Settings
• Option 2: Click the cancel link sent to your old email

What Happens After:

• Your email is updated immediately
• All active sessions are logged out (for security)
• You'll need to sign in again with your new email
• Confirmation emails are sent to both addresses

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Password Security 🆕

Password Requirements:

When creating or changing your password, it must:

• Be at least 8 characters long
• Include at least one uppercase letter (A-Z)
• Include at least one lowercase letter (a-z)
• Include at least one number (0-9)
• Include at least one special character (!@#$%^&*...)

Password History:

• You cannot reuse your last 3 passwords
• This prevents cycling through the same passwords
• Encourages using unique, strong passwords

Password Reset:

• Reset links expire after 1 hour for security
• Each link can only be used once
• All sessions are logged out after a reset
• You'll receive a confirmation email

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Forgot Your Password? 🆕

If you can't remember your password:

1. Click "Forgot Password?" on the sign-in page
2. Enter your email address
3. Check your inbox (and spam folder) for a password reset link
4. Click the link within 1 hour (it expires for security)
5. Create a new password that meets the requirements:
   • At least 8 characters
   • One uppercase letter
   • One lowercase letter
   • One number
   • One special character
6. Your new password cannot be one of your last 3 passwords
7. All your active sessions will be logged out for security

Security Note: For your protection, we'll always show the same success message whether your email exists or not. This prevents attackers from discovering which emails are registered.

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Account Lockout Protection

Your account is protected against brute force attacks:

• After 5 failed login attempts, your account is locked for 30 minutes
• The lockout resets automatically after the timeout
• Successful login resets the failed attempt counter

API Access Tokens (Basic+ Plans)

Purpose: Access the API programmatically

Setup:

1. Go to Settings → Developer tab
2. View or generate your API token
3. Copy the token (starts with eyJ...)
4. Use in API requests: Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN

Security:

• Tokens never expire (but can be regenerated)
• Keep tokens secret (like passwords)
• Regenerate if compromised

For API documentation, see the Technical section

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Troubleshooting

"Insufficient Tokens" Error

Problem: You don't have enough tokens for an operation

Solutions:

1. Wait for cycle reset (if close to cycle end)
2. Purchase top-up (Basic+ plans)
3. Upgrade to a higher plan
4. Reduce text length or entity selection

"Service Unavailable" Error

Problem: Backend services are temporarily unavailable

Solutions:

1. Wait a few moments and try again
2. Check service status
3. Contact support if issue persists

"Account Locked" Error

Problem: Too many failed login attempts

Solutions:

1. Wait 30 minutes for automatic unlock
2. Use "Forgot Password" to reset your password
3. Contact support if you believe this is an error

"Invalid Verification Code" (2FA)

Problem: 2FA code not working

Solutions:

• Authenticator App: Check device time is correct, wait for new code
• Email: Check spam folder, request new code
• Backup Code: Use a backup code if available

Pattern Not Detecting Entities

Problem: Custom entity pattern not working

Solutions:

1. Test pattern with examples
2. Check regex syntax
3. Verify language selection
4. Try AI-powered pattern generation (Basic+ plans)
5. Check confidence threshold

Encryption/Decryption Not Working

Problem: Can't encrypt or decrypt text

Solutions:

1. Verify key length (16, 24, or 32 characters)
2. Use the same key for encrypt and decrypt
3. Check that you're using the "encrypt" operator (not hash)
4. Verify key is selected correctly

"Feature Not Available" Error

Problem: Trying to access a feature not included in your plan

Solutions:

1. Check which features are included in your plan
2. Upgrade to a plan that includes the feature
3. Features by plan:
   • Free: Analyzer, Anonymizer, Personal presets/entities
   • Basic+: Batch, Deanonymize, Encryption, API, Sharing, AI entities

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FAQ

Q: What is PII?

A: Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is any data that can identify a specific person, such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers, etc.

Q: Is my data stored?

A: No. Your text is processed in real-time and not stored on our servers. Only metadata (usage statistics, token transactions) is stored.

Q: Can I use this for GDPR compliance?

A: Yes! anonymize.today helps you identify and anonymize PII to comply with GDPR and other privacy regulations.

Q: What's the difference between hash and encrypt?

A:

• Hash: One-way transformation, cannot be reversed (use for permanent anonymization)
• Encrypt: Reversible with the same key (use when you need to restore original data later)

Q: Can I use my own AI API key?

A: Yes! Go to Settings → Services → AI Service. Click on "Personal API Key Configuration" to expand the section, then enter your OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or Abacus API key. When using your personal key, no tokens are deducted from your anonymize.today balance - you pay your AI provider directly.

To switch back to the system AI service: Click the "Remove Key" button next to your API key field, then click "Save". This will revert to using the system AI service (50 tokens per request).

Q: How do I share presets or entities with my team?

A: When creating or editing a preset/entity, set the sharing level to "Team". Team members with the same organization will see it. Note: Sharing requires Basic plan or higher.

Q: What happens if I cancel my subscription?

A: You'll be downgraded to the Free plan. Any remaining tokens from your paid plan are lost. You'll receive 300 tokens on the Free plan at the next cycle.

Q: Can I process files?

A: Currently, anonymize.today processes text input. For files, copy and paste the text content into the analyzer or anonymizer.

Q: Is there a mobile app?

A: anonymize.today is a responsive web application that works seamlessly on mobile browsers (iOS Safari, Chrome, Firefox, etc.). You can access all features from your mobile device without installing a separate app.

Mobile Features:

• Hamburger Menu Navigation: Tap the menu icon (☰) to access all features
• Touch-Optimized Interface: All buttons and controls are sized for easy tapping (44px minimum)
• Responsive Design: Content automatically adapts to your screen size
• Full Feature Access: All desktop features available on mobile
• Token Display: View your token balance in the navigation drawer
• Optimized Forms: All inputs are full-width and mobile-friendly

Q: How accurate is the detection?

A: Detection accuracy depends on:

• Text quality and context
• Selected entity types
• Confidence threshold setting
• Language selection

Generally, accuracy is very high (90%+) for common PII types.

Q: Which languages are supported?

A: We support 27 languages with intelligent lazy loading:

Original languages with full NLP support (12):

• English (en), German (de), Spanish (es), French (fr)
• Italian (it), Portuguese (pt), Dutch (nl), Polish (pl)
• Russian (ru), Japanese (ja), Chinese (zh), Korean (ko)

New Balkan languages (5):

• Romanian (ro), Greek (el), Croatian (hr), Slovenian (sl), Macedonian (mk)

Nordic languages (4):

• Swedish (sv), Danish (da), Norwegian (nb), Finnish (fi)

Additional Eastern European (2):

• Ukrainian (uk), Lithuanian (lt)

Other (1):

• Catalan (ca)

Transformer-only languages (3):

• Arabic (ar), Hindi (hi), Turkish (tr)
• These use English NLP processing with XLM-RoBERTa for entity recognition

Performance Note: Language models are loaded on-demand. The first request for a new language may take a few seconds longer while the model loads. Subsequent requests are fast.

Q: Why is my analysis slow?

A: Analysis should complete in under 1 second for most texts. If you experience slow analysis:

1. Check your internet connection
2. Try a shorter text first
3. Contact support if the issue persists

Note: As of v4.0.1, analysis performance was significantly improved by optimizing model loading.

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Additional Resources

• Quick Start: QUICK_START.md - Get started in 5 minutes
• Token System: TOKEN_SYSTEM.md - Detailed token usage guide
• AI Entity Creation: AI_ENTITY_CREATION.md - AI-powered entity creation guide
• 2FA Guide: TWO_FACTOR_AUTH.md - Two-factor authentication setup
• Analyzer Guide: ANALYZER_GUIDE.md - PII Analyzer detailed guide
• Anonymizer Guide: ANONYMIZER_GUIDE.md - PII Anonymizer detailed guide
• FAQ: FAQ.md - Frequently asked questions
• API Reference: See Technical Documentation for architecture details
• Support: Visit anonymize.today/support

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Last Updated: January 24, 2026