How Howlett works

From upload to an anonymised document in four steps.

Howlett finds the personal and sensitive information in your documents, explains what it found in plain language, removes it when you need a clean copy, and keeps a record you can act on.

01 · Discover: Sensitive data discovery

Upload a PDF, Word or Excel file and Howlett identifies the personal and sensitive information across it, so you can see what data is present before it becomes a problem.

Multi-layer detection. Several complementary detection and validation methods work together, giving deeper coverage than simple pattern matching alone.
South African identifiers. Validated checks for South African ID numbers, tax reference numbers, phone numbers and card numbers.

02 · Understand: Intelligent analysis

Documents are analysed in context to tell meaningful sensitive data apart from ordinary text. Howlett also assesses whether a document is designed to collect personal information, then explains what was found and why it matters.

Findings by category. Every finding is grouped into Personal, Contact Details and Financial, with a count for each field type and high-risk fields flagged.
Plain-language summary. Each report sets out the document's intent, the identities it contains, and a recommendation, written for people rather than machines.

03 · Redact: Redaction & anonymisation

Turn a sensitive document into one that is safe to share. Howlett permanently removes the personal information it found and gives you an anonymised PDF copy of your document.

Removed, not covered. Personal information is taken out of the document itself, not hidden behind a black box that could be lifted, and the document's metadata is stripped too.
PDF and Word documents. Redact PDF and Word files on plans that include redaction. Whatever you upload, the anonymised copy comes back as a clean PDF.

04 · Act: Actionable privacy insights

Complex findings become clear, structured reports that show what was found, where it appears, and why it matters, ready to review, share and act on.

Downloadable reports. Download any report as a PDF, or share a link to it with your team.
Report history. Past scans are kept under Previous Reports, so you can revisit earlier findings at any time.

What Howlett looks for

Three categories of personal information.

Every report checks the same set of fields, so results are complete and comparable, even when a count is zero.

Personal

Identity & demographic identifiers

SA ID Number
Passport Number
Driver's License
Person Name
Date of Birth
Nationality

Contact Details

Ways to reach or locate a person

Email
Phone Number
Street Address
Postal Code
Social Media Handle
IP Address

Financial

Banking, payment & tax identifiers

Credit Card
Bank Account
Tax Reference
VAT Number
Account Number
Payment Card

Good to know

Before you rely on it.

Howlett is in active development. Features, limits and behaviour may change.
Detection may produce false positives or false negatives. Findings should be reviewed by a person before being relied on.
Redaction is not yet available for Excel files, or for scanned documents without extractable text.
Howlett assists with identifying personal information risk. It is not legal advice and does not, on its own, make you compliant with any law.

Ready to see it on your own documents?

Access to Howlett is by invitation during the beta. Apply to join, or take the walkthrough first to see a sample report.

Apply for Beta · Take the walkthrough