Masking by Hand in ONYRI Sanitize: Select, Draw, Search
Select a word, draw a rectangle, or search the file: how ONYRI Sanitize's manual masking tools cover what automatic detection cannot see, on every plan.
You drop a scanned contract into ONYRI Sanitize, and the detectors find the IBAN and the ID number in seconds. But a handwritten signature and a company logo in the letterhead are just pixels to a detector. That is what the masking tools are for: you select a word, draw a rectangle, or search the file, and you mask it yourself.
Why does automatic detection need a manual backup?
ONYRI Sanitize runs about 40 detectors across six families: names, IBANs, phone numbers, ID numbers by country, and more. Detectors read text and match patterns. They cannot look at a photograph and recognize a face, and they cannot read handwriting. They also cannot guess that one term is sensitive only inside your company. A project name can look like an ordinary word everywhere else.
- A signature, a stamp, or a company logo
- A face or a photo printed inside the document
- A barcode or a QR code
- Handwriting next to printed text
- A code name or nickname no rule was built for
What are the three manual tools?
Above the pages, a bar called Masking tool holds three actions: Select text, Draw an area, and Search the document. Pick Select text or Draw an area to work directly on the page, or switch to Search the document and type instead. A mask you draw by hand behaves exactly like one a detector found: same preview, same Token mode, same download.
| Tool | Use it for | How you trigger it |
|---|---|---|
| Select text | A word or phrase the rules missed | Click or tap a word, or drag across several |
| Draw an area | A signature, logo, photo, stamp, or barcode | Drag a rectangle over the spot |
| Search the document | The same term repeated through a long file | Type it, then mask every match at once |
Select a word, or drag across several, and a bubble appears. If that text shows up more than once, you get two choices: "Mask all 4 occurrences" or "Only this one." A term that appears just once shows a single "Mask" button instead.
Draw an area works the same way, with a rectangle instead of text. Drag over a signature, a logo, a stamp, or a barcode, then release. The shape becomes a mask sized exactly to what you circled, nothing more.
Search the document finds every instance of a term across all pages, ignoring case, even when it wraps onto two lines. Type a client's name or a reference number. A button then reads "Mask all 6 results," or "Mask the result" if there is only one.
Changed your mind? Click an existing mask and a bubble offers "Don’t mask." Undo reverses your last action, one step at a time, and also answers to Ctrl+Z or Cmd+Z. Use either as many times as you need.
What do these tools look like on a real document?
Here is what these tools look like on an actual file.
A signature on a scanned contract
Jane Example scans a signed lease before sending it to her insurer. The signature block on page 3 is a photograph of ink, so no detector reads it. She switches to Draw an area, drags a rectangle over both signatures, and they vanish from the preview in seconds.
Searching for a client code name
A consultant is anonymizing a report before it reaches a partner firm. Inside the file, the client is only ever called "Project Falcon," twelve times, and no detector knows that phrase matters. She types it into Search the document and clicks "Mask all 12 results." One click, every mention gone.
A word the rules missed
The detectors catch a formal ID number, but not the nickname a colleague used in a meeting note. Reading the preview, someone spots "Big Mike" typed beside a real name. They select the words, choose "Mask all 3 occurrences," and the nickname disappears everywhere it was typed.
What happens to a manual mask in Token mode and in your download?
In Token mode, a masked term gets a label instead of an opaque bar. Mask every occurrence at once, and every one of those spots shares the same label. Choose "Only this one" instead, and that single pick gets its own label, such as [M1]. A rectangle you draw gets one too, such as [Z1]. It is still not full anonymization. Under Recital 26 of the GDPR, pseudonymised data that could still be traced back with extra information counts as personal data.
That is also why every export is a flattened image, manual masks included. It is a brand-new PDF or PNG rebuilt from the pages, with no text hiding under the mark. The UK's data protection regulator, the ICO, warns that a black box drawn over live text in a PDF does not remove it. Copying the page into another program can reveal the text again.
Comments and document properties from the original are not carried over either. Microsoft's own Document Inspector works the same way: it strips hidden data from an Office file before you share it.
Is manual masking available on every plan?
Yes. Select text, Draw an area, and Search the document work the same way on the Free, Pro, and Team plans. Free still caps you at 3 documents a day, 5 pages each, and Black marker only. Manual masking does not raise those limits: it simply works inside them.
Automatic detection covers the patterns a computer reads reliably. These three tools cover what is left: the signature, the code name, the one word only you would recognize as sensitive.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use the masking tools on a phone or tablet?
Tapping a word to mask it works on a touchscreen, and so does dragging a rectangle over a photo or a signature. Dragging across several words at once needs a mouse or trackpad. On a phone, mask one word at a time, or use Search the document instead.
If I mask a word by hand, does it get masked everywhere it appears?
The bubble shows the exact count, such as "Mask all 4 occurrences," and a search shows "Mask all 6 results." Choose either one, and every matching spot in the document is masked at once, ignoring case. "Only this one" masks just the instance you selected.
What do my manual masks look like in Token mode?
Masking every occurrence of a term gives them all one matching label. Choose "Only this one" instead, and that single spot gets its own label, such as [M1]. A drawn rectangle gets one too, such as [Z1]. It is a pseudonym, not full anonymization: there is no key file, so keep your original if you need it again.
Is manual masking part of the Free plan, or only Pro?
It is on every plan, Free included. What Free limits is volume and mode: 3 documents a day, 5 pages each, and Black marker only. Token mode and unlimited documents are Pro features. The masking tools themselves are not.
Does ONYRI Sanitize check my manual masks for me?
No. Review the page-by-page preview before you download, the same way you would check any redaction. The detectors and the manual tools both help you find sensitive content. Deciding the document is ready to send is still your call.
Sources & references
- How do we avoid an accidental breach when redacting information?UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
- Recital 26 GDPR — pseudonymised dataGeneral Data Protection Regulation (gdpr-info.eu)
- Remove hidden data and personal information by inspecting documentsMicrosoft Support