What Is The Difference Between An Alias And Redaction?
An alias replaces an identifier with a consistent label, such as Jane Miller becoming Person A. Redaction removes selected information. Use aliases when the relationships help the AI task; remove details that add exposure without useful context.
In Witalias, both treatments redact the selected underlying original content. Replace With then inserts your chosen label. The original-to-alias mapping stays in the active local session and is not embedded in the exported PDF.
A Practical Example: Reviewing An Agreement
Suppose you want an AI assistant to explain the obligations in a service agreement. Replacing the client’s repeated name with Person A and the supplier with Company A keeps the parties distinguishable.
A bank account, email address or home address often adds nothing to a question about notice periods. Remove those details if they are unnecessary. Keep dates, amounts or job roles only when the task needs them and you are authorised to share them.
- Replace With: preserve who does what through a consistent short label.
- Remove: take out a detail or selected area that the task does not require.
- Keep Original: intentionally retain information after reviewing its relevance.
Do Aliases Make A Document Anonymous?
No. Aliases reduce direct identification, but the remaining context can still identify someone. A rare role, location, date or event may reveal identity in combination. Pseudonymisation is not a promise of anonymity.
Review the whole document and the purpose of sharing it. Witalias provides editing and review tools; it does not certify anonymisation or regulatory compliance. It does not delete data already held by ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or other providers.
Where Are Aliases Kept?
Labels are consistent within the active document session. There is no cross-document identity vault or cloud mapping archive. Clear Session, closing the workspace or the inactivity timeout ends the active session.
Your PDF stays on your device. An account and online allowance check are required for your own-document exports; these requests contain random session identifiers and usage states, not PDF text or aliases.