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PasteGuard detects PII with a small open-source service that pairs a deterministic regex/checksum layer with a semantic backend. Detection is language-agnostic: the semantic model finds names and places in mixed-language text — for example, an Italian name and city in a German letter — and structured identifiers (IBAN, credit card, email, IP) are matched by format or checksum, not by language.

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How it works

  • Deterministic layer — regex candidates validated by checksum/format (python-stdnum, phonenumbers). Owns the structured identifiers; every match is validated, not guessed, and scores 1.0.
  • Semantic layer — a loaded backend for names, locations, and street addresses. GLiNER is currently the only enabled backend.
The detector speaks the /analyze HTTP contract, is configured through the detector_url setting, and runs as a separate service (see detector/). Backend selection does not change the deterministic layer or response contract.

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Supported Entities

Names and locations use the multilingual model. IBAN, credit card, email, and IP work internationally. Phone numbers are + international-only by default; set phone_regions for local formats. VAT_CODE requires a country prefix and is validated with python-stdnum.

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Languages and phone regions

Detection is multilingual and language-agnostic. PasteGuard does not auto-detect language. National-format phone numbers need country rules. Configure phone_regions only for regions your traffic uses.

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Confidence Scoring

Semantic detections carry a confidence score (0.0–1.0); checksum-validated identifiers are always 1.0. The default request threshold is 0.7:
Each backend can apply its own confidence floors. See Semantic Backends and GLiNER.

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Response Headers

When PII is detected: