Top Free Anonymization tools, APIs, and Open Source models

What is Anonymization API?

Image Anonymisation API, also referred to as image de-identification or image de-personalisation, is the automated process of removing personal or sensitive information from images. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the privacy and security of individuals who may appear in images posted online or utilised for research.

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On the other hand, Text Anonymisation API is an interface that software developers can use to hide or obscure confidential information within text data. It is commonly deployed to handle personal data while protecting individual privacy.

The API can detect and anonymise precise data points in text, like names, addresses, phone numbers, or social security numbers, either by removing them in entirety or substituting them with non-identifiable values.

The Image Anonymization API generally operates through the use of algorithms to identify and blur or remove particular forms of information, including faces, license plates, or other identifiers.

Whereas utilising Text Anonymisation APIs can assist in maintaining data protection regulations compliance and mitigate the risk of data security breaches or identity theft.

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Top Open Source (Free) Anonymization models on the market

For users seeking a cost-effective engine, opting for an open-source model is the recommended choice. Here is the list of the best Anonymization Open Source Models:

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1‍. Presidio

Presidio helps to ensure sensitive data is properly managed and governed. The system offers speedy detection and anonymisation components for private entities mentioned in the text, including but not limited to credit card details, names, locations, social security numbers, bitcoin wallets, US phone numbers, and financial data.

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2. Databunker

The Databunker scheme aims to simplify adherence with GDPR and CPRA standards. It supplies organizations with simple-to-use APIs for easy implementation and a secure safekeeping for PII, as well as a privacy portal.

With proper deployment, Databunker replaces dispersed PII of customers across various internal log files and databases of an organization with a solitary, haphazardly generated token supervised by the Databunker service.

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3. anonympy

Free Open Source Library for data anonymization of text and Images.

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4. BMW Anonymization

An anonymization API that localizes and obfuscates (i.e. hides) sensitive information in images/videos in order to preserve the individuals' anonymity.

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5. Data Protection Framework

The Data Protection Framework is a Python package/command line tool designed to identify, anonymise, and de-anonymise personally identifiable information. The framework operates on a two-pronged approach to detect PII: utilising regular expressions to recognise patterns and utilising NLP to detect named entities.

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6. NgAnonymize

NgAnonymize is a compact Angular 2+ library that provides essential anonymisation capabilities for use in data applications that require privacy protection. The library was developed due to the limited number of existing open source solutions available for this purpose.

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Cons of Using Open Source AI models

‍While open source models offer many advantages, they also come with some potential drawbacks and challenges. Here are some cons of using open source models:

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• Not Entirely Cost Free: Open-source models, while providing valuable resources to users, may not always be entirely free of cost. Users often need to bear expenses related to hosting and server usage, especially when dealing with large or resource-intensive data sets.
• Lack of Support: Open source models may not have official support channels or dedicated customer support teams. If you encounter issues or need assistance, you might have to rely on community forums or the goodwill of volunteers, which can be less reliable than commercial support.
• Limited Documentation: Some open source models may have incomplete or poorly maintained documentation. This can make it difficult for developers to understand how to use the model effectively, leading to frustration and wasted time.
• Security Concerns: Security vulnerabilities can exist in open source models, and it may take longer for these issues to be addressed compared to commercially supported models. Users of open source models may need to monitor for security updates and patches actively.
• Scalability and Performance: Open source models may not be as optimized for performance and scalability as commercial models. If your application requires high performance or needs to handle a large number of requests, you may need to invest more time in optimization.

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Why choose Eden AI?

Given the potential costs and challenges related to open-source models, one cost-effective solution is to use APIs. Eden AI smoothens the incorporation and implementation of AI technologies with its API, connecting to multiple AI engines.

Eden AI presents a broad range of AI APIs on its platform, customized to suit your specific needs and financial limitations. These technologies include data parsing, language identification, sentiment analysis, logo recognition, question answering, data anonymization, speech recognition, and numerous other capabilities.

To get started, we offer free $10 credits for you to explore our APIs.

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Access Anonymization providers with one API

Our standardized API enables you to integrate Image de-identification APIs into your system with ease by utilizing various providers on Eden AI. Here is the list (in alphabetical order):

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• api4ai
• AWS
• Emvista
• Microsoft
• OpenAI

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1. api4ai- Available on Eden AI

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API4AI offers a cutting-edge technology that fulfills the growing demand for anonymisation solutions, compliant with numerous privacy regulations. With the capability of detecting and anonymising both faces and license plates in a single image, users need not switch between modes for different objects.

API4AI's solution is highly resilient to diverse environmental factors, including lighting conditions, rotation, and small distortions. As an entirely cloud-based solution, API4AI guarantees superior reliability and uptime to its users.

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2. AWS- Available on Eden AI

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Amazon Comprehend offers a service that can help mask confidential details in customer emails, support tickets, product reviews, social media posts, and similar texts. Moreover, AWS' API supports various languages.

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3. Emvista- Available on Eden AI

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Emvista's API is supported by sophisticated natural language processing algorithms that allow for the anonymisation of sensitive data in text, including names, locations and identification numbers, without impacting on the text's meaning.

The API is able to manage various types of text data, both structured and unstructured, and can be conveniently adapted to suit industry or regulatory requirements.

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4. Microsoft Azure- Available on Eden AI

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Microsoft Azure employs detection models available in Azure Cognitive Services to extract personal information from an input text, following which the extracted information will be masked from text data.

The API is recognised for its exceptional capability to process significant volumes of textual data proficiently and quickly, suiting diverse languages.

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5. OpenAI- Available on Eden AI

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The API applies cutting-edge NLP techniques to detect and anonymise sensitive data. Open AI's solution excels at managing intricate language structures and contextual subtleties. Additionally, their solution can be integrated seamlessly into present workflows, making it a highly adaptable choice for various sectors and use cases.

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Pricing Structure for Anonymization API Providers

Eden AI offers a user-friendly platform for evaluating pricing information from diverse API providers and monitoring price changes over time. As a result, keeping up-to-date with the latest pricing is crucial. The pricing chart below outlines the rates for smaller quantities for November 2023, as well as you can get discounts for potentially large volumes.

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How Eden AI can help you?

Eden AI is the future of AI usage in companies: our app allows you to call multiple AI APIs.

• Centralized and fully monitored billing on Eden AI for Anonymization APIs
• Unified API for all providers: simple and standard to use, quick switch between providers, access to the specific features of each provider
• Standardized response format: the JSON output format is the same for all suppliers thanks to Eden AI's standardization work. The response elements are also standardized thanks to Eden AI's powerful matching algorithms.
• The best Artificial Intelligence APIs in the market are available: big cloud providers (Google, AWS, Microsoft, and more specialized engines)
• Data protection: Eden AI will not store or use any data. Possibility to filter to use only GDPR engines.

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Next step in your project

The Eden AI team can help you with your Anonymization integration project. This can be done by :

• Organizing a product demo and a discussion to understand your needs better. You can book a time slot on this link: Contact
• By testing the public version of Eden AI for free: however, not all providers are available on this version. Some are only available on the Enterprise version.
• By benefiting from the support and advice of a team of experts to find the optimal combination of providers according to the specifics of your needs
• Having the possibility to integrate on a third-party platform: we can quickly develop connectors.

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