Cencori logo

PII Detection

Automatically detect and protect personally identifiable information (PII) in AI requests and responses.

What is PII?

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is any data that can identify a specific individual. Sending PII to third-party AI providers can:

  • Violate GDPR, HIPAA, or other privacy regulations
  • Expose sensitive customer data
  • Result in data breaches and legal liability
  • Damage customer trust

What Cencori Detects

PII TypeExamplesPattern
Email Addressesjohn@example.comRegex + validation
Phone Numbers+1-555-123-4567Multiple formats
Social Security Numbers123-45-6789US SSN format
Credit Card Numbers4532-1234-5678-9010Luhn algorithm
IP Addresses192.168.1.1IPv4/IPv6
Postal Addresses123 Main St, NY 10001Address patterns
Government IDsPassport numbers, licensesCountry-specific

How PII Detection Works

1. Request Received
Your application sends a request through Cencori
↓
2. PII Scan
Cencori scans the prompt for PII using regex and ML models
↓
3. Detection Found
If PII is detected, request is flagged as a security incident
↓
4. Action Taken
Block request or redact PII based on your policy

Automatic PII Blocking

By default, Cencori blocks requests containing PII and returns an error:

pii-blocked-response.json

The request never reaches the AI provider, protecting your users' data.

Handling PII Detection in Your Code

handle-pii.ts

PII Redaction (Coming Soon)

Instead of blocking, you can enable automatic redaction. Cencori will replace PII with placeholders:

redacted-example

This allows the request to proceed while protecting sensitive data.

Viewing PII Incidents in Dashboard

All PII detection events are logged as security incidents. To view:

  1. Navigate to your project dashboard
  2. Click "Security" in the sidebar
  3. Filter by "PII Detection" incident type
  4. View details including:
    • Which PII types were detected
    • Timestamp and user info
    • The triggering request (PII redacted)

Custom PII Patterns (Enterprise)

Enterprise customers can add custom PII patterns specific to their business:

  • Employee IDs (e.g., EMP-12345)
  • Internal project codes
  • Customer reference numbers
  • Industry-specific identifiers (medical record numbers, account IDs)

Contact sales to configure custom patterns for your organization.

Handling False Positives

Sometimes legitimate content is flagged as PII:

Example: Fictional Data

"Create a sample user profile with email test@example.com" might be flagged, even though it's fictional.

Solution: Whitelist Domains

Configure Cencori to allow specific domains or patterns in your project settings.

Best Practices

  • Enable PII detection for all production projects
  • Educate users to avoid sharing personal information in prompts
  • Review PII incidents weekly to identify patterns
  • Use redaction mode for non-critical PII (e.g., names in support tickets)
  • Block mode for strict compliance (healthcare, finance)
  • Monitor false positive rates and adjust sensitivity

Compliance Benefits

PII detection helps you comply with:

  • GDPR: Prevent unauthorized processing of personal data
  • HIPAA: Protect patient health information
  • SOC 2: Demonstrate data protection controls
  • CCPA: California Consumer Privacy Act compliance