Scrubadub
What it is: Python library for removing personally identifiable information (PII) from text. Automatically detects and redacts names, emails, phone numbers, SSNs, credit cards, and more.
What It Does Best
Automatic PII detection. Finds and removes names, emails, phones, addresses, SSNs, credit cards. Uses pattern matching and NLP for name recognition.
Compliance helper. Clean data for GDPR/CCPA compliance. Share logs and support tickets without leaking customer information.
Customizable. Add custom detectors for company-specific PII. Control redaction format (replace with {{EMAIL}} or hash values).
Pricing
Free. Open source, MIT license.
When to Use It
✅ Sharing production logs for debugging
✅ Anonymizing customer support transcripts
✅ GDPR/CCPA data anonymization requirements
✅ Creating test datasets from production data
When NOT to Use It
❌ Need 100% accuracy (manual review required)
❌ Highly sensitive data (use enterprise tools)
❌ Non-English text (limited language support)
Bottom line: Good first line of defense for PII removal. Catches most common cases automatically. Not perfect—always review output for sensitive data. Essential tool for data privacy compliance.