Security
Mask / Redact / Tokenize
Finds social security numbers, card numbers, phone numbers, emails — or your own pattern — in a column, even inside free text, and masks, redacts or tokenizes each one.
When to use it
Use it to make production data safe for test, training or analytics environments, or before sharing an export outside the team.
In a pipeline
SQL Server DatabaseMask / Redact / TokenizeExport CSV
Settings
| Setting | Type | Required | Default or hint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Column | select | Yes | Select column… |
| Find | select | — | ssn |
| Pattern | text | — | e.g. \bEMP-\d{6}\b |
| Replace with | select | — | mask |
| Characters to keep at the end | number | — | 4 |
| Generate New Column | checkbox | — | false |
| New Column Name | text | — | Default: <column> Masked |
| Insert After | select | — | After the column |
Example
Mask SSNs for a test copy
- Column=SSN
- Find=Social security numbers
- Replace with=Mask — ***-**-1234
| Name | SSN |
|---|---|
| Ann | 123-45-6789 |
| Bob | 987654321 |
| Name | SSN |
|---|---|
| Ann | ***-**-6789 |
| Bob | *****4321 |
Worth knowing
- Mask keeps the format and the last few digits (4 by default); emails keep their first letter and domain: a******@example.com.
- Token replaces each value with tok_ and 20 hex characters: the same value always gets the same token on this FlowDoo server, so tokenized columns still join — but tokens cannot be turned back.
- Card numbers are only touched when they pass the Luhn check, so order numbers are left alone.
- The column is rewritten in place by default, so the real values never travel further; tick Generate New Column to keep both.