Protected Names works with Elephas AI and your own API key, while personal information protection is on. Local AI sends nothing to the cloud, so there is nothing to hide from it.
Before you start
- Personal information protection must be on. In your Personal workspace, that is Protect personal information when using cloud AI in Settings › AI. It is on by default. If you turn it off, Protected Names are not applied either. See personal information protection.
- In a Team workspace, protection runs only when the Team Owner’s AI policy is Allowed with required redaction. See Team AI policy.
- The private-information models must be downloaded. Check Settings › Downloads. See manage downloads.
Steps
Add a protected name
1
Open the Brain
Click the Brain in the sidebar, or open it from the Brains page.
2
Open Protected Names
Click More at the top of the Brain’s page and choose Protected Names.
3
Type the name or term
In Name or term, type the name exactly as it appears in your documents, for example
Harbor Cafe or Project Falcon.4
Choose what it is
Pick Person, Organisation or Other. This sets the kind of placeholder the AI sees, so it still understands the role the name plays.
5
Add it
Click Add or press Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows). The name appears in the list. Add as many as you need, then click Done.
Remove a protected name
Open More › Protected Names and click Remove next to the name.How it works
What happens when you ask
When protection is on and you ask a question with cloud AI, Elephas checks, on your computer:- your question,
- the earlier messages in the chat that it sends, and
- every passage from your documents that it sends,
[PERSON-3fa2c1] before anything is sent. When the answer comes back, Elephas puts the real name back in, on your computer.
The same name always gets the same placeholder within a Brain, so the AI can still tell that two passages are about the same client. It does not see who the client is.
To see what was hidden for an answer, click the shield under it, for example 3 details hidden. See review hidden details.
How names are matched
- Whole words only.
Acmematches “Acme” and “Acme’s”, but not “Acmeville”. - Case and accents are ignored.
Mulleralso matches “MULLER” and “Müller”. - Extra spaces are ignored.
Project Falconis saved asProject Falcon. - Exact wording.
Acme Corpdoes not match “Acme Corporation” or “ACME Inc.” Add each variant your documents use, including abbreviations and nicknames.
What to add
Add anything that would identify a client, matter or deal if it reached a cloud AI provider:- Client and counterparty names, including short forms
- Matter, case, claim and file numbers
- Project and deal code names
- Street addresses and usernames, which automatic detection does not reliably catch
- Names of small places or people that, in context, identify someone
Per Brain, and it syncs
Each Brain has its own list. A name added to one Brain applies whenever that Brain is in your question’s scope. If you ask several Brains at once, the lists of all of them apply. Protected Names sync with the Brain. With Personal Sync, your list reaches your other devices. On a Team Brain, everyone who can open the Brain uses the same list.Limits
Protected Names only hides what you list, in the form you list it. It does not remove the topic of your question. The AI still reads the rest of each passage. For material where any miss is unacceptable, use Local AI. In Local AI mode, your question and your documents are not sent to any AI provider. See what data is sent to AI.Troubleshooting
Elephas can't protect personal information until it finishes downloading
Elephas can't protect personal information until it finishes downloading
The private-information models are missing. Open Settings › Downloads and download Private-information models. Nothing was sent. See manage downloads.