How to Redact PII in SharePoint Automatically

SharePoint offers robust document storage and access controls—but it does not provide automatic PII redaction. This creates compliance risk for every department handling personal data.

SharePoint limitations include:

• No automatic redaction for PII
• No machine learning or OCR to detect PII in images and scans
• No remediation for PII inside PDFs or spreadsheets
• No continuous monitoring for sensitive PII fields
• No redaction of synced OneDrive content
• No historical redaction for old files
• No GDPR/CCPA-specific DLP rules

Without redaction, sensitive PII can be viewed, downloaded, or shared internally or externally without restriction—violating privacy and data protection laws.

What PII Looks Like Inside SharePoint

PII is everywhere inside SharePoint because users constantly upload personal information. Examples of files that contain PII:

• HR documents and onboarding forms
• ID photos, passports, driver’s licenses
• Customer lists and CRM exports
• Employee rosters with emails and phone numbers
• Payroll documents
• PDF contracts containing personal data
• Screenshots submitted by employees or customers
• Call logs and chat transcripts
• Vendor forms containing address and contact details

Strac detects and redacts common PII such as:

• Full names
• Addresses
• Phone numbers
• Email addresses
• National ID numbers
• Social Security Numbers (SSNs)
• Driver’s license numbers
• Passport numbers
• Tax identifiers
• Birthdates
• Medical identifiers (non-PHI context)

Strac uses AI + OCR + context analysis to dramatically reduce false positives.

✨What It Means to Redact PII in SharePoint

Redaction removes the sensitive portions of a document while preserving the rest. This keeps the file usable without exposing personal data.

Examples:
Original:
Employee Name: John Smith
Phone: (555) 111-2222

Redacted:
Employee Name: **** ******
Phone: (**) -

Why redaction matters:

• Maintains document usability
• Protects employee and customer privacy
• Enables clean audit logs
• Prevents data spread in synced folders
• Supports GDPR/CCPA/HIPAA compliance
• Reduces insider risk

Strac redacts PII in:

• PDFs
• Images (JPG, PNG)
• Scanned forms
• Excel sheets and CSVs
• Word documents
• ZIP archives
• Synced folders from OneDrive
• Shared library documents

Every redaction is logged with full audit context.

How to Automatically Redact PII in SharePoint with Strac

Strac continuously scans SharePoint content and applies redactions instantly when PII is detected. This ensures personal data is never exposed to unauthorized users.

How Strac redaction works:

• Inspects uploads, edits, and synced OneDrive files
• Detects PII using ML + OCR + NLP
• Redacts sensitive fields automatically
• Maintains non-PII content untouched
• Logs all redactions for compliance
• Supports targeted redaction per data category
• Redacts historical files on demand
• Deploys instantly with zero agents

You can also choose:

• Redact immediately
• Alert + redact
• Redact only in specific libraries
• Redact based on user or department
• Apply retention rules alongside redaction

Real Examples of PII Redaction in SharePoint

Example 1 — HR uploads employee onboarding form
Strac redacts names, SSNs, phone numbers, and addresses automatically.

Example 2 — Customer sends a scanned ID card
PII inside the image is redacted via OCR.

Example 3 — CSV list of customer contact data uploaded
Strac selectively redacts PII columns without destroying the spreadsheet structure.

Example 4 — PDF contract with personal addresses
Strac redacts PII text layers while preserving page layout.

This prevents accidental exposure and supports privacy governance.

Why Strac Is the Best Way to Redact PII in SharePoint

• Real-time + historical PII scanning
• Works across SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, Slack, Gmail, Salesforce, Jira, Confluence, and more
• AI + OCR detection for all file types
• Context-aware redaction rules
• Supports GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, FERPA, and global privacy laws
• Zero-agent deployment
• Full audit logs for regulators and compliance teams

🌶️Spicy FAQs on How to Redact PII in SharePoint

Does SharePoint have native PII redaction?

No. SharePoint does not support automated redaction of personal data.

Can Strac redact PII inside images or scanned documents?

Yes. OCR extracts PII and redacts it automatically.

Does Strac redact PII in old SharePoint content?

Yes. Strac supports historical scanning and redaction.

Can Strac redact only certain types of PII?

Yes. Policies can target names, emails, SSNs, addresses, or any category.

Will users still be able to view non-sensitive parts of documents?

Yes. Redaction only removes PII, keeping documents readable.

Try Strac for SharePoint PII Redaction & DLP

Strac helps you automatically detect, classify, and redact personal data (PII) across SharePoint libraries, folders, and OneDrive sync locations—keeping your organization compliant and protected.