Step 1 of 13

Welcome to the PII Scanner

This guide shows you how to scan websites for exposed personal data step by step.

What You'll Learn

The PII Scanner helps you find personal information exposed on websites, including:

Email addresses and phone numbers
Physical addresses and locations
Government IDs (SSN, IBAN, Tax IDs)
Credit card numbers and financial data
Names and other identifying information

Before You Start

You'll need an API key from one of our detection providers:

cloak.business — Enterprise solution with 390+ entity types
anonym.legal — Starter-friendly with 260+ entity types

Both offer free trial tokens to get started.

Step 2 of 13

Open the Scanner

Click "Scan Your Website" to open the scanner tool.

The Scanner Interface

The scanner uses a simple 4-step wizard:

Step 1 - Authenticate: Connect your API key
Step 2 - Configure: Choose what to detect
Step 3 - Target: Enter the website URL
Step 4 - Analyze: Review results and export

Step 3 of 13

Choose Your Provider

Select cloak.business (enterprise) or anonym.legal (starter).

Provider Comparison

cloak.business: 390+ entity types, 317 regex patterns, image OCR, ML models
anonym.legal: 260+ entity types, regex + NLP, desktop app included

Both providers use deterministic detection for audit-ready results.

Step 4 of 13

Enter Your API Key

Paste your API key to connect to the detection service.

Get Your API Key

If you don't have an API key yet:

Visit your provider's dashboard
Sign up for a free account
Generate an API key in your settings
Copy and paste it into the scanner

Your API key is stored locally and never shared with third parties.

Step 5 of 13

Connected Successfully

Once connected, you'll see your token balance and capabilities.

What You'll See

Token Balance: Your available API tokens
Entity Types: Number of detectable PII types
Languages: Supported detection languages
Presets: Available compliance presets (GDPR, HIPAA, etc.)

Step 6 of 13

Configure Detection

Choose a preset (GDPR, HIPAA) or customize entity selection.

Available Presets

GDPR: European personal data (names, addresses, IDs)
HIPAA: Healthcare data (patient IDs, medical records)
PCI-DSS: Payment card data (credit cards, account numbers)
Custom: Select individual entity types

You can also adjust the confidence threshold for detection sensitivity.

Step 7 of 13

Select Language

Match the language to your target website for best results.

Why Language Matters

Name detection uses language-specific NLP models
Address formats vary by country (postcodes, states)
Phone numbers have different formats per region
IDs are country-specific (SSN, IBAN, DNI, INSEE)

48 languages are supported. Select the primary language of your target website.

Step 8 of 13

Enter Website URL

Paste the website URL and click "Check" to discover pages.

URL Tips

Enter the full URL including https://
You can scan any public website
For testing, use our demo pages (see below)
The scanner will automatically discover linked pages

Step 9 of 13

Review Discovered Pages

Select which pages to include in your scan.

Page Selection

The scanner crawls the website to find linked pages
Check/uncheck pages to include or exclude them
More pages = more tokens used
Estimated token cost is shown before scanning

Step 10 of 13

Start the Scan

Click "Start Scan" to begin analyzing the selected pages.

What Happens Next

Each page is fetched and analyzed for PII
Deterministic patterns detect structured data (IDs, IBANs)
NLP models detect names and contextual data
Results are compiled in real-time

Step 11 of 13

Watch Progress

Monitor real-time progress as pages are analyzed.

Progress Information

Current page being analyzed
Pages completed vs. total
Findings discovered so far
Tokens used

You can stop the scan at any time if needed.

Step 12 of 13

Review Results

See all detected PII with severity ratings.

Understanding Results

Compliance Grade: A-F rating based on findings
Finding Count: Total PII instances detected
Entity Types: Categories of PII found
Severity: High, Medium, Low risk classification

Click on any finding to see the exact text and location.

Step 13 of 13

Export Your Report

Download your findings as HTML, JSON, or CSV.

Export Formats

HTML Report: Formatted report for sharing with stakeholders
JSON: Machine-readable format for automation
CSV: Spreadsheet-compatible for further analysis

You're Ready!

You now know how to use the PII Scanner. Try it on your own website or use our demo pages below to see it in action.

Open Scanner →

Try It: Demo Pages

Test the scanner on these demo pages with fake PII in different languages. Each page simulates a company website with region-specific personal data.

German Demo: Beispiel GmbH

A German company page with region-specific PII:

German phone numbers (+49 89 12345678)
German IBAN (DE89 3704 0044...)
Steuer-ID (12 345 678 901)
German addresses (Maximilianstraße 42, München)
German names (Dr. Maria Schmidt, Thomas Müller)

Open German Demo →

English Demo: Example Corp

An American company page with region-specific PII:

US phone numbers ((555) 123-4567)
Social Security Numbers (123-45-6789)
Credit card numbers (4111 1111 1111 1111)
US addresses (123 Main Street, New York, NY)
American names (John Smith, Sarah Johnson)

Open English Demo →

French Demo: Exemple SARL

A French company page with region-specific PII:

French phone numbers (+33 1 23 45 67 89)
French IBAN (FR76 3000 6000...)
INSEE/NIR (1 85 12 75 108 123 45)
French addresses (15 Rue de la Paix, Paris)
French names (Jean-Pierre Dupont, Marie Martin)

Open French Demo →

Spanish Demo: Ejemplo S.L.

A Spanish company page with region-specific PII:

Spanish phone numbers (+34 91 123 45 67)
Spanish IBAN (ES91 2100 0418...)
DNI/NIE (12345678Z)
Spanish addresses (Calle Gran Vía 28, Madrid)
Spanish names (María García López, Carlos Rodríguez)

Open Spanish Demo →